The Demigod Chronicles: Book1
by LastProtocol01
Summary: The time for new heroes has arrived. One particular demigod arises to find out the truth of his heritage as he races against time to save a person most dear to him.
1. Chapter 1: I'm a What?

**AN: Hello there~ Name's Nazz and this story was made from my friend CJ and I's love for the Percy Jackson series. This will take place a few years after TLO but the demigods know about the Roman Camp. TLH and series after that never happened but the characters from there are here. This is my friend and I's first story so please tell us if there's anything wrong. We'd love feedback.**

**Oh yeah, some of the gods may be a OOC.**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing but our characters. PJ and the Olympians belong to Rick Riordan.**

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**Chapter 1**

Jarred's day started like any other: in detention.

Jarred Mayers sat in a hard wooden chair in the principal's office. The principal, a balding man in his late 50's, kept ranting on and on about being late and such.

Hey, it wasn't his fault that he was late. His mother had been drinking the other night and he had to walk instead of being driven to school!

He drowned out the sound of the principal talking about being a good student. He had heard of all this already. He rested his head in his hand, his black hair falling over his eyes, watching the principal pace back and forth, stopping every few minutes to pause and look at him sternly while talking. _This guy never lets up on me does he? _He let out a sigh of impatience.

"Do you understand me Mr. Mayers?" The principal said, his nostrils flaring as he stared sternly at Jarred.

"Huh? What?" Jarred jumped a bit in his chair and looked up at him. "Uh yes. I understand very well...sir."

The principal narrowed his eyes at Jarred before nodding his head. "This is your final warning boy. Go back to class." He then turned his back on Jarred.

He nodded, slung his pack over his shoulder and walked out the door. His principal's words rang in his mind. _"This is your final warning boy." My final warning…_

He walked down the silent hallways towards his first period classroom, his ADHD mind on overdrive.

Jarred went inside his classroom without knocking. The teacher scowled at him for interrupting the lesson but turned back to the class.

As he went to his seat in the very back of the classroom, he felt a pair of eyes following him. Jarred sat down and looked around, ignoring the teacher. His amber brown eyes locked with a pair of deep blue ones at the farthest side of the class before they turned away. Jarred tried to remember the name of the girl but nothing came up.

_ Oh well...it's not like it's important. _He thought before leaning back on his chair.

The sixteen year old tried to focus on what was written on the board but because of his accursed dyslexia, the words just floated off the board, making it hard for him to read. He could feel his ADHD acting up as his hands and legs twitched and bounced lightly. His eyes drifted from face to face of that of his classmates and saw that they were concentrating on the lesson. All except one.

The girl who was stared at him when he walked into the classroom was twitching and slightly bouncing in her seat. He could see that her eyes were glancing around the room constantly before going back to the teacher. Jarred wracked his brain and he remembered that she had ADHD and dyslexia much like himself. The kids around her had noticed and were silently laughing at her but she paid them no mind.

Soon, the bell rang for next period. Jarred slung his pack over his shoulder as he pushed through the throng of students going to their next classes. Most students parted around him due to his reputation. He had never hesitated to punch _anyone_ if they got to his nerves.

Jarred let out a small sigh. _At least I'm going to Mrs. Jacobs' class_. He thought.

Mrs. Jacobs had always been a good teacher, she took things slow with kids like him; the ones with ADHD and dyslexia. She also taught Greek and Roman studies, his favorite subject.

Mrs. Jacobs smiled at him as he walked in. Most of the class had already arrived and she was waiting for the others before she started the new lesson.

Jarred returned the smile before going to his seat. He sat in the front of the class wondering what she would be teaching them today. Jarred looked over at the board but his dyslexia acted up and the words just floated off the board in ways he didn't understand.

Once the class filled up, Mrs. Jacobs cleared her throat.

"Good Morning class." She said, smiling at the students. "Today we'll be learning about demigods and what made them so. We'll also be learning about great demigods of the past."

She paused before looking around her. "First off, what makes a person a demigod?" she asked.

Jarred raised his hand, along with a few other kids in the class.

Mrs. Jacobs looked around, deciding who to pick. Soon she smiled.

"Yes, Jarred."

"A demigod is someone born from a god and a mortal." He said calmly.

"Yes. Very good Jarred, you are absolutely correct." She smiled at him before turning to the class. "As Jarred said, a demigod, or as they are sometimes called Half-bloods, is born from a god and a mortal. In ancient times, demigods were considered to have powers similar to their godly parent and are generally known to help them. Can anyone name a famous demigod and what they did?"

Jarred had to think of that for a moment. _Okay, let's see...Perseus! What did Perseus do again? Right, Perseus killed Medusa with a magic sword and shield._

"Anyone?" Mrs. Jacobs asked, looking around the room. "How about you Jarred?"

Jarred looked up from his mythology book. "Huh? Oh, uhm, Perseus. Perseus cut off Medusa's head with a magic sword and shield."

"Very good!" Mrs. Jacobs said before moving on to the next part of the lesson.

Jarred tried to focus on the lesson but he felt someone staring at him. He looked over his shoulder to find a pair of dark brown eyes fixed intently at him.

Jarred quickly turned back to the board, his finger tapping franticly on the desk; it was an old nervous habit he had gotten into_. Okay, what the heck is with people staring at me, it's freaking me out..._

Soon the bell rang signalling the end of the period. Jarred picked up his bag and walked out of the classroom towards his next period class. As he was walking, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. He kept getting that feeling lately, whenever it did something bad happened close to his home, a death, a robbery and so on and so forth.

Jarred was beginning to get paranoid over it. _ What does it matter to you? _He thought bitterly. _None of those people mean anything to you and you mean nothing to no one...your alone and you have to face that fact of life._ He sighed, putting himself down was beginning to become something that was normal.

Jarred stopped walking, that uneasy feeling had turned to anxiety. _Calm down...calm down. _He kept telling himself over and over, but he knew whatever was going to happen was going to happen to him.

He took a deep breath before going into the classroom. Jarred looked around the room and saw that the two kids who were staring at him before was in his class. They were doing it again as if waiting for something to happen.

One was a boy who looked to be around seventeen and was wearing a newsboy cap on his curly brown hair. The other was a girl who sat beside him. She looked like she was fifteen or so and had short, shaggy, slightly wild sandy blonde hair.

Jarred mentally groaned. _Great. Just great...Though…Why haven't I noticed them before?_

Jarred took his seat as the lesson started. He zoned everything out but that uneasy feeling kept hold of him with a firm grip.

After a few minutes into the lesson, Jarred quickly raised his hand, "May I go to the office?"

The teacher hesitated before agreeing. Jarred then grabbed his backpack and ran out of the room, two pairs of eyes following him worriedly. S_top being so paranoid! It means nothing so calm yourself down. Keep your fear out of sight as always and go back to class...no...No this is different...very different, I can feel It...Stop being a wuss and go back to class! _He argued with himself as he walked to the office.

Jarred shook his head. _Enough arguing, what's it going to do?_ He sat in the hallway, leaning against the walls. "But I can't help but feel that something's about to happen..." He whispered.

Suddenly, the school's fire alarm went off. Jarred's head shot up as he heard screaming and the pounding of feet as everyone tried to escape the building.

He stood up and was about to run to an exit when a sharp clawed hand wrapped around his neck and pushed him up against the wall. "What the heck?" he shouted before looking up at whatever held him up.

The…thing looked like an old woman with black skin. Her hair was made of snakes and, from what Jarred saw, wore old grey robes. The creature sneered at Jarred, baring her yellow fanged teeth. "Hello young hero." She rasped.

_Hero?_ Jarred tried getting out of her grasp, but her grip was strong and firm. "LET ME GO!" He shouted as loud as he could with lack of air.

The creature hissed before she was suddenly knocked over, a bronze arrow piercing her side. Jarred was dropped to the floor, his hand massaging his neck as he gasped for air. The creature shrieked in pain before dissolving into golden dust.

Suddenly someone grabbed Jarred's hand and proceeded to pull to the nearest exit. "Come on! There may be others coming!"

Jarred coughed a bit as he ran. "What the heck was that?!" He asked looking back at the gold dust that had begun to disappear.

"I'll explain everything to you on the way. We have to get you to camp!"

Jarred looked at the person pulling him and was surprised to see that it was the girl who had been staring at him. Her face was set in an expression of determination as she pulled Jarred along. In her hand was a bronze bow.

He wanted to protest but something told him not to question her judgement. _She mentioned something about a camp...why would I need to go to a camp?_

The two of them turned a corner. In front of them was an old forgotten school exit. The girl tugged and pushed on the door but no luck. It wouldn't budge. With a low growl, she pulled her leg back and kicked the door. Jarred, expecting that it would do nothing but hurt her foot, was surprised when the door swung open violently.

"Come on!" She shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the parking lot. They stopped by the road. The girl put two fingers to her lips and blew, a shrill whistle sounded through the air.

Out of nowhere, a gray car suddenly pulled up in front them. The doors near them opened and she pushed Jarred into the back seat, slamming the door in his face. She then proceeded to climb into the front seat. With a jolt of surprise, Jarred saw that the other boy who stared at him was the one in the driver's seat.

"Drive Marcus!" she shouted frantically. The boy, Marcus, slammed on the pedal and the car shot into the highway.

Jarred blinked, trying to process what had just happened. Then his eyes narrowed. "Okay I want answers! Somebody tell me what the heck is going on!" He growled at them.

The girl glanced at Marcus for permission. The boy grunted as he gave her a small nod, his eyes never leaving the road.

She turned around to face Jarred. "I know this might not make sense but do you know about the Greek legends and the gods?"

"Of course I do! We learn about that in class!" He was growing impatient. "What does that have to do with any of this?!"

The girl looked at Jarred straight in the eye. "They're real. They're all real." She said. "And you're a demigod."

Jarred fell silent, drawn back at what she had said. "Demigod? H-How can I be a demigod?! Th-That doesn't make sense I-" He stopped himself. _No...This does make sense, it sounds crazy but it does make sense. Mom never spoke of dad; every time I brought him up she'd dismiss the conversation. Dad's a god..._

He looked over at the girl. "What about that..." He hesitated racking his brain for what it was, snake hair, black skin, and robes. "A Fury, what did it want with me?"

She sighed and scratched the back of her head. "No reason in particular except that you're a demigod like me." She then smiled sadly at Jarred. "Names have power Jarred. We prefer to call them the _Kindly Ones_ for our protection."

"_Kindly Ones_ doesn't seem to fit their attitude..." He muttered to himself, then his eyes shot back to her. "Now you two. You guys were staring at me all day today. Did you guys know this was going to happen?"

The girl winced before glancing at Marcus. He nodded.

"Yes. We knew that this would happen." Marcus said. "Alice and I were sent to look after you and bring you to camp."

_But they had to make sure I was a demigod first..._ Jarred sighed leaning back in the back seat. "Guess that covers most of it..." He muttered, still processing the fact that he had almost been killed, and found out that he was a demigod in one day. "I guess I should've asked this first, _who_ are you?"

Alice smiled a bit. "My name is Alice Levin. This is Marcus Rapier." She said, gesturing at Marcus who was now driving them along country roads.

"Jarred Mayers." He said looking out the window, arms crossed. He remained silent after that.

"We know." Alice said quietly, turning back to the front. "We've known from the start."

It was quiet in the car before Marcus spoke up. "We're nearing camp borders."

Alice gave a sigh of relief. "Good…I just want to be home…" she said quietly.

"How does this camp keep us safe?" Jarred said suddenly looking at Alice, an icy look was glazed over his eyes.

Alice jumped in her seat. "The camp has magical borders." She answered. "No monster or mortal can get in unless someone from inside allows them in."

"Oh..."

"Come on…" Marcus murmured. "Just a few mor-" He managed to say before there was a shrill screeching and the car suddenly flipped over.

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**AN:**** Well there we are~**

**There's the first chapter. I'll be updating this story every two or three days depending on how it goes. I hope you guys like it so far. Reviews are most welcome~**

**'Til Next time, **

**Nazz and CJ**


	2. Chapter 2: My Mother Knows A Horse

**AN:**** Well Here's Chapter 2. I was gonna upload this two days from now but what the heck. Enjoy guys~**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing but our characters. PJ and the Olympians belong to Rick Riordan.**

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**Chapter 2**

Jarred was able to get to the floor of the car. He curled into a ball his hands covering his head. This wasn't his first car accident.

"Oh curse the gods." Alice said before bracing herself.

Marcus gripped the steering wheel tightly, letting out a sharp throaty "_Blaa-ha-ha!"_

The car soon stopped rolling, though it landed upside down.

Jarred, unfortunately, had been on the floor of the car and fell onto the roof. "Oomph!" He grunted. "What happened?" Jarred groaned.

Alice was grumbling under her breath. "Stupid Furies." She said hanging upside down as she fumbled at her seat belt. "Hades this is taking forever!" she said before taking out a steel dagger and hacked at the strap.

Marcus rubbed his head with one hand as he took off his pants with the other. "_Blaa-ha-ha! _Hurry up Alice!"

"I'm hurrying. I'm hurrying." She grumbled before the belt was cut loose and she fell backwards onto the roof. "Gods that hurt!" she said, rubbing her back.

Jarred was grumbling something about _'My life sucks.'_ and _'Why can't things be normal for a change?'_ as he was trying to pry his door open.

Marcus grumbled before kicking his door. "Open you stupid thing you!" he said before giving out one strong kick and his door flew from the hinges.

He scrambled out the door as he pulled Alice out. "Jarred come on!"

Jarred turned seeing them. _'How did he do that?!'_ He thought as he scrambled out of the door, following them.

There was a screeching behind them. They all turned around and saw two other Furies flying quickly towards them.

"Up the hill! The one with the pine tree!" Alice shouted at them before turning around to face the Furies. She pulled back the string on her bow and a bronze arrow suddenly appeared.

She fired at one of the Furies then another at the second one while walking backwards towards the borders. The first one was hit and dissolved into golden dust but the second one managed to dodge the arrow.

Jarred didn't bother to awe at her bow. His focus was to get pass that pine tree.

"Hurry up Jarred." Marcus bleated from beside the boy.

Jarred looked at Marcus and nearly stumbled. "Y-You're half goat?!"

"_Blaa-ha-ha! _Oh now you notice? The proper term is satyr." Marcus grumbled. "No time. Just get past the tree!"

Alice was right behind them as she tried to fire another arrow at the last Fury. "Oh for god's sake just die will you!" She shouted before running towards the border. Jarred and Marcus had just crossed it.

Alice was just about to cross when the Fury grabbed her by the jacket she was wearing. Alice screamed in surprise.

"Not so fast demigod." The Fury rasped and raked he claws over Alice's arm. Alice screamed in pain.

Jarred froze and turned around. He narrowed his eyes at the Fury. Grabbing a rock, Jarred threw it as hard as he could at the Fury's head, hitting it roughly by the temple.

The Fury whipped her head towards Jarred and hissed.

Alice was thankful for the distraction Jarred caused. Ignoring the pain and the dripping blood on her arm, she grabbed a bronze dagger from its sheath at her belt. Holding it tightly in her hand, she drove the dagger through the Fury's chest.

The Fury screeched in pain before dissolving into golden dust, dropping Alice.

Alice grunted in pain as she fell hard and heard something crack. "Stupid Furies." She mumbled. She painfully stood up and crossed the border before sinking to her knees and passing out.

Jarred hurried over to her. He looked at Marcus as he scooped her up in his arms. "Where's your infirmary?"

"Over here. Come on." Marcus bleated worriedly as he led the way.

A few kids who heard the screech of the Fury were staring at the two as they rushed Alice to the infirmary.

Jarred glanced down at Alice, really seeing the damage she had taken. Her arm was swollen and bent oddly with deep, bleeding scratch marks on the other.

"Alice!" A voice suddenly called out. A nineteen year old boy with short black hair and brown eyes came running at Jarred, staring worriedly at the girl in the younger boy's arms. "Give her to me kid." He demanded.

He just kept walking, following Marcus calmly. The older boy growled lowly at Jarred.

Marcus turned to Jarred. "Jarred. Give Alice to Arcus. He's her brother."

Jarred looked Arcus up and down. "Honestly, I would never say they look alike..."

"Just give her to me." Arcus demanded, his eyes flashing dangerously. Marcus nervously bleated.

"Give Alice to him Jarred. Trust me, he's her brother." Marcus said. "I'll take you to Chiron so he could explain everything."

Jarred handed Alice to Arcus though he remained unconvinced. _Why do I feel protective of her? She's definitely independent…_ He turned to Marcus "Lead the way."

Jarred watched Arcus carefully carry Alice towards the infirmary, whispering comforting words in the girl's ear.

"Right this way." Marcus said, snapping Jarred's attention from Arcus to himself. He led Jarred to a big barn-like house and knocked on the door. "Chiron!"

"Chiron?" Jarred said "Like Chiron from the myths and legends?"

Marcus grinned at him. "Yep. The big man himself." He said, just as the door opened.

"Wow..." He blinked. _He trained so many demigods...and all of them became heroes…_

A man's upper body came out the door, looking around. When he saw Marcus and Jarred he smiled. "Ah. Mission accomplished I see Marcus. A job well done." He praised as Marcus looked proud. "But where may I ask is Alice?"

At that, Marcus paled. "She got caught with one of the Furies while we were arriving." He said. "She's in the infirmary with Arcus."

Jarred flinched slightly at the mention of the Furies. "I'm sure she'll be ok Marcus." He said calmly to the boy.

"Jarred is right Marcus. She's with Arcus now and she'll be fully healed in a few hours or maybe even less. He's one of our best healers." Chiron said before stepping aside and opening the door wider. "Come in Jarred, I'm sure you have many questions."

Marcus nodded before running off towards the other buildings in the distance.

Jarred walked inside following Chiron. "You could say that..."

Chiron led Jarred to the old worn down couch. "Alright son, what are your questions?"

Jarred sat on the couch. "Well, for one, do you guys know who my dad is?"

Chiron gave Jarred a sad smile. "I'm sorry young one but I do not know." He told the young boy. "It will be up to him to claim you as his son. We will just have to wait."

_He probably doesn't even want to claim me..._ He nodded "I understand, but...how is all of this...real?"

"It always has been real child." Chiron told him. "Mortals from ancient times have written quite a lot of the gods but over the years, they have been closed off as myths. The gods never left."

"Oh..." He said, thought it hadn't truly answered his question.

"Anymore questions young one?"

"Yeah, but just one. What will people outside of here do when they see that I'm missing?"

"Ah but you are not missing. When you arrived, Marcus left a letter to your principal of your transfer and another letter to your mother of your arrival to camp." Chiron told Jarred. "However, you will have to discuss the matter of staying year round or only at the summers with your mother."

Jarred looked at his feet silently. "I'll stay year round. My mother won't miss me, she won't care."

Chiron gave the boy a sad smile. "Even so, it's best that you talk with her."

He narrowed his eyes. "When will I be able to talk to her?" He asked patiently, looking up at the centaur.

"Right now if you wish." Chiron said softly.

"In person, or by phone?"

"In person."

"Then right now, please."

Chiron nodded, pulling out a small contraption. He pushed a button and the object let out a mist which made a rainbow when sunlight hit.

Turning to Jarred, Chiron gave him a large round coin. "Throw this into the rainbow and say _'Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me_' then say name of your mother."

Jarred nodded and took the coin. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Elizabeth Mayers."

With that he tossed the coin into the mist, half expecting the coin to just fall to the floor. Instead it seeped into the mist, as if it had fallen into water.

The mist shimmered for a minute before showing a blonde woman sitting in front of their kitchen table, a few tears streaming down her face as she stared at the letter in front of her.

Jarred winced seeing her cry. "M-Mom" He said walking up to the mist.

Elizabeth jumped, her chair toppling to the floor as she looked around, her light brown eyes wide with surprise. When she saw the image of Jarred at the mist, more tears ran down her face as she came closer. "J-Jarred! Oh my baby! Are you at camp? How are you?"

Jarred couldn't speak for a moment, his mom was being an actual mom for a change. "I-I'm fine, I'm at camp." He said trying not to stutter.

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank the gods you're okay. Who brought you to camp?"

"Alice Levin and Marcus Rapier..." He said calmly. Even so, he could feel a slight feeling of anger growing inside of him.

"I see. I'm glad you're okay Jarred." Elizabeth sighed, glad that her only son is safe. "Are you going to stay only summers or year round dear?"

Jarred hesitated for a second. "Year-round. Just so I can get the hang of everything this year..." He told her. "Next year I'll probably come home..." Honestly though, he didn't want to go home. Jarred's gaze fell on the messes in the apartment. Beer bottles littering the floors, the walls needed to be repainted, burns in the carpet from cigarettes.

Elizabeth nodded. "Alright dear. I'll miss you." She told Jarred. "You take care and don't cause Chiron too much trouble alright sweetie? I'll see you next year. Don't forget to IM me every once in a while."

Jarred gave a nod. "I will, promise."

"That's a good kid." Elizabeth gave her son a gentle smile. "Oh and Jarred? I'm sorry for how I treated you before. It was mostly for your protection but I'm really sorry." she said before waving her hand across the mist, ending the call.

Jarred opened his mouth to say something, but she was already gone. He wanted to talk to her more, tell her he was sorry, sorry for everything he had done.

Chiron clapped Jarred on the shoulder. "If you ever want to contact your mother again, you can always go here." he told the young boy. "Come; let us bring you to your temporary cabin until your father claims you." He then looked at Jarred with his lips pursed as if there was something that was supposed to happen.

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**AN: Well there we are~**

**There's the 2nd chapter. Please review guys :)**

**'Til Next time,**

**Nazz and CJ**


	3. Chapter 3: When the Messenger is busy

******AN: Hey guys, we'd love to know how the story is going on so far so...please review? It'll mean a lot to us if you guys like the story ;w;**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing but our characters. PJ and the Olympians belong to Rick Riordan.**

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**Chapter 3**

Jarred looked up at Chiron. "Uh...yeah sure." He blinked a couple of times. There would be time for his mom later.

Chiron smiled gently before leading Jarred out the room. As Chiron was closing the door, a beautiful blonde haired girl of about sixteen walked up to the centaur.

"Chiron, the wood nymphs and satyrs you called for are assembled." She said sweetly, her musical voice carrying through the camp.

Jarred could feel his face grow warm when he looked at her, so he kept very silent.

"Ah yes, Thank you Stephanie." Chiron smiled at the girl. "Could you do me a favor dear and tour Jarred here around the camp while I deal with them please? He's still undetermined so he will be staying at the Hermes cabin for the time being."

_Hermes...the god of Thieves._ Jarred remembered learning about Hermes in class. He looked at the girl, deciding whether she was going to be trouble, or just some other camper.

Stephanie's eyebrows furrowed but she nodded. "Sure Chiron." she said, smiling at the centaur then to Jarred. "Come on. I'll show you around." she said before turning around, her skirt slightly swaying as she walked ahead.

Jarred followed her. "So Stephanie, who's your godly parent?" He asked.

Stephanie gave him a dazzling smile. "Aphrodite, goddess of Love." She said cheerfully. "I'm not like my other siblings though who can be airheads most of the time."

_Well that makes sense..._ He thought. "Oh cool, I wish I knew who my dad was..." He muttered.

"He'll claim you soon." Stephanie said, patting his shoulder for reassurance. "Come on. I'll show you the fields then the stables first."

Jarred nodded, letting her lead the way. _So this is going to be my home for the year..._ He looked around; kids were fighting with swords and shields while others talked happily to one another. He saw satyrs playing volleyball down by a lake. _This is home, home for demigods._

The two walked towards an expanse of fields filled with strawberry plants. Here and there campers were picking bushels of berries wile a satyr played a tune on his reed pipe.

"We use the strawberry profit to pay for camp expenses." Stephanie explained. "The strawberries take almost no effort anyway."

He looked over the vast strawberry fields; the soft tune of the reed pipes filled his ears. Then he turned to Stephanie, confused. "What do you mean they take almost no effort?"

Stephanie laughed a musical laugh. "Well our camp director Mr. D has that effect on fruit bearing plants." She told him. "It works best with wine grapes but he was restricted from growing those so we grow strawberries instead. And the satyrs' music helps too."

_Mr. D?_ He was trying to find the god that fit Stephanie's description. _Makes fruit bearing plants grow, mostly wine grapes. Wine grapes... _"Your camp director is Dionysus?"

Stephanie nodded. "That's him but we call him Mr. D here. Names have power remember?"

"Oh, right." Jarred said, he should've remembered. Then again when you've just found out you're a demigod. Well you're bound to forget.

Stephanie led him to a large stable. Jarred watched a camper lead a brown and white horse outside of the stables. A horse with…wings?!

Jarred watched, eyes wide with awe. "Pegasi? Your stables have _Pegasi_."

Stephanie laughed in amusement. "Yeah we do. You're welcome to ride any of the ones who take a liking to you. Come on. We're going to the cabins now." Stephanie said, taking Jarred's hand to lead him away from the stables.

He smiled as they walked. "Remind me to go there later on today." He told her. "Riding a Pegasus has got to be better then riding a horse."

"Sure! I'll come with to help you pick a Pegasus." Stephanie said. "They're basically the same. Ours just have wings and can fly."

He smirked. "I guess, but still..." His gaze fell to their hands, and his face flushed. _Calm yourself...s-she's just leading you around camp is all. That's it._

Stephanie took no notice as she led him to the buildings in the middle of camp. On the way, she pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

"That's the mess hall where we all eat." Stephanie explained.

Jarred looked the mess hall over. "What happens if it rains or something? There isn't a roof, what happens then?"

"It doesn't rain at camp. The magical borders prevent bad weather to affect us."

"Wow…But, what do other people see? Wouldn't they wonder why there's a camp here?"

"The borders prevent mortals from seeing this place. To them, this place is just a strawberry farm."

"Really? That's pretty sweet."

"Yeah, I know right?" Stephanie laughed.

Letting go of Jarred's hand, she pointed to a few more places as they walked towards the buildings in the middle. There was an archery range, the canoeing lake, the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where she said they held sword and spear fights.

"Sword and spear fights?" Jarred asked.

"Cabin challenges and training." Stephanie explained. "They're not lethal. Usually. But we have the infirmary for that."

"So you're saying campers can maim one another while training?" He looked at her a little shocked that they would let kids do that to one another.

"Of course. Camp Half-blood is first and foremost a training facility." Stephanie said. "They train us so we could survive in the outside world. There are worst and stronger monsters than whatever monster that attacked you. Camp trains us for that."

He nodded understanding. He remembered some of the monsters Hercules had to fight. _Hydra, and the Nemean Lion...probably two of the worst he fought._ "So how come the 'Kindly Ones' want to you know, kill us?"

Stephanie shrugged. "Because we're demigods. Plain and simple."

"Well _that_ makes sense." He said sarcastically.

Stephanie laughed. "We're powerful. They think we're a threat to them so of course they'll attack. Others just like a snack."

Jarred felt himself shudder. "So basically it's train hard or die?"

"That's right."

"Good thing I'm staying year-round." He chuckled. "I'd probably be dead without training."

Stephanie laughed.

Finally they reached the cabins. There were twenty of them, with a some others still in construction, nestled in the woods by the lake. They made an omega shape. Each cabin had a large brass number above the doors with the odds on the left and the evens on the right and they looked absolutely nothing alike.

Jarred stopped walking and looked at each of the cabins curiously.

Number Nine looked like a tiny factory and had smokestacks. Number Five looked like it was splashed on with red paint and had a large boar's head over the door and barbed wire on the roof. Number Twelve had its roof and walls lined with grape vines.

They all faced a commons area the size of a soccer field dotted with Greek statues, flower beds, fountains and a couple of basketball hoops. In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit with a girl who looked to be around nine tending to the flames.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field looked like hugs mausoleums. Cabin One was the biggest of the cabins with polished bronze doors that shimmered like a hologram. Cabin Two was more graceful and had slimmer columns that were garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.

Jarred walked by each cabin, until he came up to one of solid obsidian. "Cabin 13." He read.

Cabin 13 was windowless with heavy columns. There were torches that burned green fire and had a skull over the door.

"That's the Hades' Cabin." Stephanie said, standing beside him. "We don't really have any children of his nowadays because he's too busy in the underworld."

"Oh..." He glanced up at Stephanie. "The thirteen makes a lot of sense now. Since it's the unluckiest number and all."

Stephanie shrugged. "Not to his children. Come on, I have to get you to Cabin Eleven." Stephanie said, leading Jarred away from Thirteen.

As they were walking, they saw Cabin Seven. It seemed to be made of solid gold and glowed in the sunlight. The campers in front of the cabin were either playing an instrument, drawing or testing their bows. One of the sitting campers in particular was playing a violin but looked a little stiff in one arm.

He froze. He looked at the girl playing the violin, before he kept following Stephanie.

Stephanie on the other hand walked straight towards the girl. "Hi Alice! How's your arm?"

The small girl stopped playing and looked up at Stephanie, not seeing Jarred yet. "Hi Stephanie." Alice said smiling ruefully as she rubbed her right arm with the violin still in hand. "Still a little stiff and sore but it's alright. Arcus said that it'll feel better in a few hours."

Jarred stood silently, looking down at Alice. There was a glint in his eyes as he looked away from her and at her siblings playing their instruments.

"Well alright. You take care now you hear?" Stephanie said. "I still have to get a new camper to the Hermes Cabin."

Jarred followed Stephanie to Cabin Eleven, instantly he knew it was going to be somewhat of a nightmare. The cabin was overflowing with kids of all ages. Out of all the cabins, it looked most like a regular old summer camp cabin. Over the doorway was a symbol of a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. A caduceus.

"No that is not for eating! Put that down. Lucas give that back to Sally! Cameron put on your shirt! Yes I know you're old enough but put that on!" A guy who looked younger than Jarred but was slightly taller said. He was running around the younger kids as he tried to stop the chaos.

Jarred watched silently for a moment before looking up at Stephanie. "Do I really want to know?"

Stephanie laughed as she watched. "Not if you want to. Those are all Hermes' kids so be careful where you put your stuff."

"I'll keep that in mind..." He said as the guy from before noticed them and walked forward.

"Hey there! I'm Pascal and I told you not to eat that!" He shouted at a six year old kid who was about to put dirt in his mouth. Pascal sighed before turning back to Jarred and Stephanie. "Anyway, I'm the head counselor for this chaos that is called the Hermes Cabin."

He was wearing a deep blue fedora hat that had a red caduceus pin on its white stripe. He had messy curly blonde hair that had four red hair clips on the left tuft of hair and wore gray fingerless gloves on his hands. He wore the orange shirt everyone else was wearing, cream cargo pants and sneakers. His blue eyes shined with mischief as he held out a gloved hand to Jarred.

Jarred shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jarred."

"So I'm guessing Stephanie here is showing around." Pascal smirked. "Who's your godly parent? Shouldn't you go that cabin first?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes at Pascal. "He's undetermined."

Pascal's eyebrows furrowed. "But shouldn't he be-" Pascal shook his head then smiled at Jarred. "Well you're welcome to stay at our cabin until your parent claims you."

Jarred looked at Pascal slightly confused then returned a small smile. "Thanks..."

Pascal smiled again before looking towards Stephanie. "We'll take it from here now."

Stephanie smiled. "Thanks Pascal." She said before turning to Jarred. "I'll be at the Aphrodite Cabin if you need something." She told Jarred before winking at him and walking towards her cabin.

Jarred felt his cheeks get hot and he pushed that feeling away. _It's just because she's a daughter of Aphrodite, that's it._ But even as he told himself that, he felt his crush on the girl grow.

Jarred turned back to Pascal. "Pretty chaotic here huh? I'd be happy to help if you need anything."

Pascal looked relieved. "Thanks man. Dad's been...busy so there are a lot of kids here." He said as he took a dagger from a running kid. "This is not yours." He told the child before putting it in a sheath attached to his hip. The child pouted before going back to the cabin.

"So what do I have to do?"

"Just keep an eye on them. If they look pleased with themselves, they've taken something." Pascal said as he led Jarred to the cabin. "Tell them it's under my orders and they'll listen to you."

Jarred nodded. "Got it."

They made their way towards the cabin as kids ran around them.

"Lots of little kids huh?" Jarred said watching some of them.

"As I said, Dad's been...busy." Pascal chuckled as he picked up a kid and turned him around. Unfazed, the kid kept running towards the others. "I'm the eldest one here."

"Wow. Ever think your dad is a little too busy?" He chuckled.

Pascal shrugged while smiling. "All the time."

Jarred tried to hold back his laughter. "That's gotta suck sometimes huh?"

"Only when my things go missing." Pascal laughed as they stepped in the cabin. "Come on, you take the top bunk. I'm at the bottom." He led Jarred to the farthest corner of the cabin.

Jarred nodded and felt a small tug on his pant leg. "Hmm?" He looked down to see a little girl, her hair was bright gold and her eyes were a soft blue. She handed him something leather which he realized was his wallet.

"Sally! Your first steal!" Pascal laughed as he ruffled the girl's hair. "Thank you for giving it back to him and no he's not a new brother."

Sally smiled and laughed when Jarred picked her up. "I don't know whether to be mad 'cause you took my wallet or proud because it was the first thing you stole..." He laughed.

"Both I guess? Didn't Steph tell you to be careful around us?" Pascal said before stopping another kid and taking something from him. Letting the kid go, he held something out to Jarred. "Here's your wallet back again."

Jarred blinked and took it. "Yeah she warned me, but I didn't think it'd be that bad." He set Sally down. She pouted at first before going off to mess with one of her brothers.

"Oh we're that bad." Pascal had a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Welcome to the cabin for the children of the god of messengers, travelers and thieves. Keep all personal things in sight or they will be gone in the next minute."

He smirked. "If these weren't little kids, I'd tell them off for it." Jarred said.

"They won't listen to you anyway. We're not known to." Pascal smirked back. "We better get you settled in. Your bags seem to be already here." Pascal said, pulling out a couple of suitcases from under his bunk.

A small boy with brown eyes that had the same mischievous glint handed Pascal two orange shirts. "Thank you Lucas." Pascal said to the boy before turning to Jarred. "Here are your new Camp Half-Blood shirts Jarred. Stolen straight from the camp store."

Jarred took the t-shirts. "They're really stolen?"

Pascal just smiled in response.

"I have a feeling I don't want to know." He chuckled lightly and set the t-shirts on the top bunk. "So how are you guys able to have so many kids in here? Don't you ever run out of room?"

"We have enough beds for everyone. Right now, Hermes kids are around sixteen with me included plus a few more beds to spare." Pascal said as he looked around the cabin fondly.

Jarred nodded understanding.

"When you're done settling in, I know what we could do." Pascal said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Cool, what is it?" He clearly seemed eager to do something.

Pascal laughed. "Nothing drastic. We're just going to the armory to get you fitted up." He said. "We'll pick up my best friend on the way. She's great to have around." He added as he led Jarred outside.

"Cool, and I have a weird feeling about the whole armor thing, like I could get killed while I'm here..."

"Oh you would. Unless you really want to be skewered by a sword, dagger, arrow or spear, we really need to get you armor." Pascal replied nonchalantly. "But Chiron doesn't allow killing here unless it's a monster."

"That's a relief."

Pascal side stepped and plucked a few flowers from the bushes as they made their way towards Cabin Seven. Winking at Jarred, Pascal walked to the door and knocked. He straightened his hat and shirt as he waited with the flowers behind his back.

Jarred rolled his eyes. "Oh geez..."

The cabin door opened and Arcus looked out, his eyes slightly unfocused and sleepy.

"Why hello Arcus. Looking good as always." Pascal said in a realistic British voice as he bowed slightly and tipped his hat.

Jarred watched him curiously. _This kid has got some weird issues, I can just tell..._

Arcus looked sleepily at Pascal, not noticing Jarred. The older boy chuckled lightly. "Give me a sec." He said before going back into the Cabin. There were a few noises from the cabin, like something dropping. A few muffled Greek curses could also be heard and a lot of grumbling.

Pascal smirked at Jarred before turning back to the door as someone walked out. "For you milady." He said as he bowed, showing the flowers and mischievously smirking.

"You know the Demeter kids are going to have your head for these." A soft twinkling voice said amused.

* * *

**AN: Well there we are~**

**Review guys! IT'll mean a lot to us to know what you think of this**

**'Til Next time,**

**Nazz and CJ**


	4. Chapter 4: I Almost Kill My Friend

**AN: Hello everyone! Here's Nazz with the next chapter~**

**Again, we own nothing but the plot and our own OCs. **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Jarred looked up to the voice, to see Alice. He was surprised to see that she was the one Pascal had been talking about.

_She's taken..._ He felt almost sad about it, though he was unsure why he would. He had only met this girl this morning, yet she had saved his life. And he had saved hers.

Pascal smirked at her. "Aww come on Alice. I picked these with love." He teased, his eyes twinkling.

_Just friends huh? Seems a little more than that._ Jarred smirked slightly.

Alice rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway. "Sure you did." She said, smirking back. Noticing Jarred, her features softened a bit. "Hi Jarred. What are you and my idiot of a best friend doing here?"

He blinked a few times; once again he had been sucked into his thoughts. As he looked at her, his cold eyes softened revealing their true soft amber color. " Going to the armory, Pascal said it'd be nice to have you come along." He gave a smile, his soft eyes and bright smile made him hard to argue with.

Alice smiled as she took the flowers Pascal offered. "Sure I'll come. Give me minute." She said before going back into the cabin.

Pascal smiled goofily at Jarred. "Isn't she amazing?" he said, eyes still twinkling.

Jarred felt a hint of jealousy rise up, and he tried not to let it show. "Yeah." He said as he looked back at the cabin. "Amazing."

"Aww come on! Don't tell me you don't see it?" Pascal smiled mischievously.

Jarred chuckled with a small smile. "I never said that now did I?"

Pascal looked incredulously at Jarred. "You like her." He said that like it was a fact and there was a protective glint in his eyes.

Jarred narrowed his eyes at Pascal. "Don't say that like it's a fact."

Pascal shrugged. "Whatever you say buddy."

He rolled his eyes. "I have a feeling you're gonna keep bugging me about this someday."

Pascal just smirked with a weird glint in his eyes. "I never said anything about that."

"Oh, using my words against me. That's cold." Jarred gave him a playful shove.

Just then Alice came back out. She was wearing the orange camp shirt, a sleeveless opened jacket and a beaded necklace. The pockets of the cargo pants she wore looked like it was full of items. "Okay, let's go. I have a feeling that you two are going to spar immediately after so I'll just referee." She said her sandy blonde hair bouncing slightly as she walked up to the two boys. She raised an eyebrow as she looked between them. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing important." Jarred said.

Pascal scoffed. "You're saying she's not important?" He whispered to Jarred, too low for Alice could hear.

"I'm not saying that." He hissed quietly.

Pascal waved him off before turning to Alice. "We'll talk later." He said, throwing an arm around her shoulder and winking at her. "First we've got to get Jarred here suited up."

Jarred rolled his eyes at Pascal and started walking. "Let's go then."

Pascal nodded them smiled at Jarred. "Sure buddy." He said, walking in step beside the older boy, his arm still on Alice's shoulder.

"So we're having a sparring match afterwards?"

"Sure why not?" Pascal said, unconsciously pulling Alice closer to him. Alice took no notice as if she was used to it.

"Cool." He glanced at them, a small glint of jealousy in his eyes.

"I repeat. I'm just going to referee. My arm's still sore." Alice turned to Jarred. "You okay?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing in worry.

"Fine, just letting the whole demigod thing sink in." He gave her a small smile.

Alice smiled softly at him. "You'll get used to it soon."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Her voice was soothing and gentle.

Jarred smiled slightly.

"Here we are!" Pascal said as they arrived at the armory. He led Alice through the door first then Jarred. "Let's get you fitted."

Jarred remained silent, either amused or irritated by Pascal's amusement.

"I'll go find one of the Hephaestus kids." Pascal went deeper into the armory to talk to one of the kids in charge while Alice hoisted herself up an empty table.

Jarred did the same and sighed. "This is gonna take awhile to get use to."

"It takes time but you will." Alice said, swinging her legs slightly.

"Yeah I know." He smiled at her slightly.

Alice chuckled a bit, her eyes softening. Reaching her hand out, she stroked a tuft of hair out of Jarred's face. "You'll do great. I know it." She said softly.

"What makes you say that? My school reputation?"

She shook her head. "I just have a feeling you will."

Jarred smirked. "I hope your feeling is right." He said quietly

She rolled her eyes. "I know you'll do great." She whispered.

He smiled at her. "Thanks."

She smiled back, her eyes twinkling. "You're welcome."

"No, not for that." He looked at the ground. "For what happened at the school."

"It was only right. I couldn't leave you at the mercy of those things."

"I know, but you got hurt while doing so." He gestured to her arm. "Is there a way that I can make it up to you?"

Alice stared at her arm as if remembering the pain. "You don't have to do anything." She said, her eyes glazed over. "Unless you really want to though. It's up to you."

"I really want to." Jarred said calmly.

Alice turned to Jarred. He could see weariness in her eyes as if she witnessed many loved ones, many friends die. Then she smiled. "Sure. What do you have in mind?"

"What do you want me to do?" There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Alice shrugged. "I'll up for anything that won't threaten my life or sanity."

"I'm sure I'll think of something." Jarred smirked at her.

Alice smiled wider and chuckled. "Sure." She said, her eyes twinkling.

Just then Pascal came in with another boy. "Okay, I found Matthew here to suit you up Jarred." Pascal said, waving Jarred over.

Jarred smiled at Alice, happy that she agreed, before he followed Matthew.

"Okay, this will just take a second." Matthew said. "Hold up your arms to the side please."

Jarred did as he was told and held up his arms. He looked at the weapons within the armory as Matthew took the measurements. There were spears, swords, shields and bows with quivers full of bronze arrows.

On the side, Pascal was leaning back against the table where Alice sat. He was whispering in Alice's ear with a mischievous smile. Soon enough Alice let out a laugh then took his hat and ruffled his hair. Pascal chuckled before taking back his hat and put it on his head, his eyes shining.

Jarred wondered what they had been talking about but pushed it away, trying hard not to move due to his ADHD.

Alice caught his eyes and smiled widely, her eyes shining.

He returned the smile softly. He caught Alice blush before she turned back to Pascal. Jarred chuckled at her.

"Alright. Come back in half an hour. We'll have them finished." Matthew said as he wrote down the measurements. "Go look around and see if you could find a weapon." He then turned back to the deeper part of the armory.

Jarred put his arms down and walked around the room. He looked at swords mostly but nothing truly caught his eye.

Pascal and Alice watched him walk around before Alice jumped off the table. Jarred saw her look around then ducked behind one of the shields.

"How about this one?" She called out, holding a spear in her hands. It was a burgundy painted spear. It had four sharp silver clamps that closed at the base of a black spear head.

He got a glint in his eyes and smiled as he took it. "Wicked..."

"That is _Efialtis_, Nightmare in English." Pascal said, walking towards them. "The spear head is Stygian iron and the clamps are steel while the shaft is pure celestial bronze. That spear was used by many other demigods before you. I haven't seen that one in a long time."

"Wow." The clamps opened and red electricity sparked around the spear head. "I wonder who else used this..."

"My older brother..." Pascal quietly said.

Jarred looked at Pascal. "What happened?"

"Something went wrong on his quest...Only stayed alive until he was sure his companions got back okay." Pascal's eyes were glazed over. "He died in the infirmary but he died a hero."

He put a hand on Pascal's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm sorry for what happened to your brother Pascal."

Pascal shook his head but smiled at Jarred. "It's alright. I miss him but I know he's happy in Elysium."

Alice came over and hugged Pascal, burying her face in his chest. Pascal chuckled and hugged her back. "It's alright. I'm fine." He murmured.

Jarred nodded and turned his focus to the spear, the black iron of the spear head returned his reflection. For once he saw how cruel and cold his eyes were. _No wonder people feared me at school._

He suddenly felt a hand in his. Looking down, he saw Alice smiling softly at him with no fear in her eyes even if she was looking into his.

"Come on. You two still have that spar right?" She said, smiling. Pascal was at the door, smirking at the two.

He nodded. "Right." Jarred allowed her to lead him to the door.

Pascal gave them a crooked smile and walked ahead. Alice followed though it seemed that she wasn't aware that she was still holding Jarred's hand.

He glanced down at her and smiled to himself. _Pascal's right about her, she's amazing._

He saw Alice look up at him and smile brightly, as if she read his thoughts.

Jarred smiled back. "So, what are the rules for the spar?"

"Just no killing and maiming." Alice replied. Jarred noticed that she still hasn't let go of his hand.

"Good to know." He felt a little uncomfortable with her still holding his hand, but said nothing about it.

Alice saw his expression. She finally noticed that she was holding his hand and quickly let go. "Sorry." She muttered before walking ahead to Pascal, her face red.

Jarred felt his own face redden as they headed to the arena.

"Okay..." Jarred followed Pascal over. "Why's Chiron here?"

"He sometimes comes here to overlook challenges." Pascal handed him a set of armor.

"Cool." He said as Pascal and him got into their armor.

They got onto the mat just as Chiron came over with Alice right beside him. She was looking at the floor deep in thought as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Pascal smirked at Jarred and pulled out a pin from his hat. Jarred watched as the pin transformed into a double-edged celestial bronze sword. "You ready? Because me and Breakneck are."

_Breakneck? That must be his sword._ Jarred smiled wickedly letting the sparks around Efialtis's spear head charge up. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Chiron walked forward with Alice beside him. "Campers!" He said in a booming voice. "Take your stances."

Pascal gripped his sword in both hands and pointed it at Jarred's chest, grinning like a cheshire cat.

"Ready. On guard!" Chiron shouted.

Jarred hesitated, waiting for Pascal to make the first move.

Pascal stood firm, sword in both hands and pointing at Jarred.

_He's got the same idea..._ He skillfully advanced forward; fighting skills came naturally to him. He knew what he was doing.

Pascal dodged Jarred's first strike. Jumping to the side, he swiped his sword at Jarred before rolling. He stood up and faced Jarred, sword in front.

Jarred smiled wickedly as he lunged, landing a strike to the middle of Pascal's chest. The electricity almost making the younger boy crumple to his knees.

Pascal gritted his teeth then suddenly kicked the back of Jarred's knees, making the older boy fall. Pascal then used the hilt of his sword and hit Jarred hard on his back.

Anger flooded through him. Jarred rolled onto his back and kicked Pascal's knees causing them to buckle. He got back to his feet spear aimed at his head, but he kept still. No matter how bad his hunger for a fight got, he would never kill a person.

Pascal suddenly rolled on his back and jumped up, kicking Jarred in the chest and knocking the wind out of Jarred, making him fall on his back.

Jarred growled, jumping back to his feet. He advanced aggressively lashing the spear out, giving Pascal a deep cut on his cheek, small bits of electricity making the younger boy shudder.

Pascal parried with Jarred, slashing with his sword against the spear and twisting to dodge. He sliced down, giving Jarred a cut on the older boy's cheek much like his.

He snickered, wincing slightly at the cut. Jarred jammed the spear into the ground. "I don't give mercy." He whispered as a red wave lashed through the ground, electrocuting Pascal and knocking him over. The younger boy's armor sizzled from the heat of the lightning that had gone through it.

Pascal lay still. Everything was quiet before a scream pierced through the air.

"PASCAL!" Alice ran towards the son of Hermes.

Jarred froze. _What did I just do?_ He ran over to Pascal, after Alice.

Alice dropped by Pascal's side, frantically brushing hair off the boy's face. "Pascal…Come on wake up." The son of Hermes lay still though breathing heavily.

He knelt down beside Pascal and gently shook him. "Pascal, come on get up!"

"Come on Pascal...Please." Alice's voice broke and Jarred saw tears in her eyes. There was a sudden glow of red on his face. Alice looked up at Jarred, her eyes wide.

"What? What is it?" Jarred looked at her confused.

"J-jarred." She said, her voice cracking slightly. "Look up."

He tilted his head upwards and his eyes grew wide. Above his head was a faint red spinning boar head and spear. "Whoa..."

"I don't know why it's faint but...You've been claimed by your father." Alice told him.

"Ares..." He whispered. "God of war."


	5. Chapter 5: Knight's Challenge

******AN: hello everyone~ Here's Nazz with the new chapter once again~**

**Again, we own nothing but the plot and our own OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Jarred was on the porch of his new cabin, two days after he had been claimed, thinking about the events that had happened.

His new brothers and sisters took all of his belongings from Cabin Eleven and moved it to Cabin Five.

The Hermes cabin congratulated him on being claimed and reassured the newest son of Ares that they weren't mad that he almost got their head counselor barbequed.

Pascal was still in the infirmary with Alice watching over him. For now, the second in command of the Hermes cabin was keeping things in order.

Jarred was tapping his fingers on the cabin step, repeating his nervous habit only got him more worked up. Even if the Hermes cabin wasn't mad he still felt guilty about everything, his battle instincts had gotten the best of him. He didn't even know Efialtis could _do_ that!

"What's the matter bro?" A voice behind Jarred said.

He jumped and turned to see who was talking to him.

A big bulky boy with scars up and down his arms stood a few feet from Jarred. He had slightly shaggy dark brown hair and his brown eyes were staring at the newest son of Ares. His mouth was turned up in a smirk. "Don't worry, it's only me." He chuckled, crossing his arms. "Now what's bothering you?"

"Oh, hey Jake." He muttered. "I-I just feel bad about what happened with Pascal...I should've been able to control myself! I've never gotten like that before!"

Jake came closer to the young boy and patted him on the shoulder. "That's the Ares blood awakening in you. All of us in this cabin have felt that. Our greatest training is controlling that side of us." He said. "And don't worry about Pascal. If Alice is with him, he'll be fine. Those two have been through a lot together."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Jarred shook his head. He and Alice had canceled their plans because of what had happened.

"He'll be alright. Pascal isn't the one who keeps grudges." Jake patted the younger boy's shoulder again. "If Pascal did, Alice would talk some sense into that boy." Jake continued.

He didn't seem convinced. "Jake." He didn't look up at his older half-brother. "They seem really close, what exactly happened to them? You said they went through a lot together."

Jake stayed silent before answering. "I've known those two ever since they came here. The both of them were two years old and they came here battered, bruised and half-dead. I was five years old then.

"According to what Chiron told us, their guardian satyr was going to their house to babysit them while their mothers were going out. Then, out of the blue, hellhounds attacked the apartment before he even got there.

"The satyr managed to save the two but their mothers didn't make it. The hellhounds followed them until they arrived at camp. They were in the infirmary for five days. When they woke up they were inseparable and refused to talk to anyone but Chiron and the satyr.

"When Alice was claimed by her father, the two of them screamed, cried and refused to let go of each other. It got easier in the later years and they started making other friends but they're still inseparable up to now." Jake continued. "They're orphans and for a long time they felt that they had no one else to go to but each other."

Jarred said nothing. It was obvious he wished he hadn't asked. Frustration built up in him and the more frustrated he got, the faster he tapped on the cabin step. Jake could tell that Jarred had developed small feelings for Alice, though he wouldn't ever admit it.

Just then, a musical voice reached the two sons or Ares' ears. "Jarred. I heard what happened, I'm happy you were claimed but I'm sorry of what happened to Pascal."

Jarred looked up at Stephanie, his eyes narrowed. "Thanks, but honestly nothing's making me feel better at the moment." He suddenly winced, quickly withdrawing his hand from the step. He looked down at the bleeding scratches and splinters he had gotten in his finger. "Curse that stupid habit." He muttered to himself.

Stephanie's eyebrows furrowed in worry before reaching into her pocket and taking out a small container. Getting a small cube from the container, she handed it to Jarred.

"Here. Eat that." Stephanie said, sitting down beside Jarred.

He shook his head. "No I'm fine, this happens a lot." He said. "It's an old nervous habit I have."

"Come on Jarred just eat it."

Jarred sighed. He wasn't in the mood argue over something like this, so instead he took it and ate it. He was slightly surprised when it tasted a lot like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Ones his neighborhood bakery made, nothing he had was able to compare to them.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?" Stephanie said, seeing Jarred's reaction. "And look. Your hand is healing."

Jarred looked down at his hand, the scratches and splinters were beginning to heal. "Thanks..." He said as he stood up. "I'll see you guys later." He said calmly as he picked up the wooden staff lying by the steps.

"Jarred!" Stephanie called out, running to catch up to him.

He turned looking at her. "What?" He called back.

Stephanie smiled before taking his hand. "Come on. Let's go Pegasus flying. I promised you that remember?"

He frowned. "Sorry Stephanie, let me visit the infirmary first."

Stephanie just smiled at him. "Pascal and Alice just left there a while ago."

"Where'd they go? I really need to talk to them."

Stephanie shook her head. "I don't know. But they did say that they wanted to be left alone for a while."

He tried not to let her see him wince. "Alright then." He put on a fake smile. "Let's go riding..."

Stephanie gave him a sad smile. "They'll be alright." She said before she led him to the stables.

"That's not what's got me upset." He whispered to himself as he followed her.

Stephanie went inside and motioned for Jarred to follow her in. Inside there were almost fifteen Pegasi. She went over to a cream colored Pegasus and led her to Jarred.

"This is Mocha." She said, stroking the Pegasus' face. "Go and see if any of them likes you. Just stroke their head and mane a bit." She instructed.

He nodded and walked through the barn. He stopped, looking at a large dark gray Friesian Pegasus. As he walked over the stallion snorted, and whinnied as he pawed the ground.

"That's Shadow's Knight, our wildest Pegasus. We just call him Knight." Stephanie said.

"Why's he so wild?" He asked as he went to unlatch the stall door so he could get in. Knight interested him. Jarred wanted to see how wild the stallion really was.

"Well, he's never like anyone here and he always bucks and suddenly dives." Stephanie said, worry creasing her features. "I think only one person was able to handle him."

A sly look crossed his face and he walked into the stall closing the door behind him. "Maybe I'll be the other one."

Knight snorted and pounded the floor with his hooves as if accepting Jarred's challenge.

"Are you sure Jarred?" Stephanie called out. She was already mounted on Mocha.

"Yeah. I'm sure." He kept his eye on Knight. "How did they act around him? Like, what did they do or say?"

"Uhm...I think they tried calming him first." Stephanie said, uncertain.

"Maybe he thinks opposite of other Pegasus. Let me guess what happened if they got him to calm down. They were gentle and kind right?"

"Uhm...yeah I think so."

Jarred gave a smile of determination as he looked into Knight's dark eye. "You don't want that do you boy? You want someone who can be dominant."

Knight snorted. He stared at the boy in front of him but stopped pounding on the floor.

"Thought so." He walked up to the dark gray stallion and patted his neck.

Knight snorted again, slightly shaking his pelt as if he was excited to fly.

Jarred went over to the stallion's face and rubbed his forehead. "What do ya' say boy, wanna fly?"

Knight whinnied and clopped his hooves in excitement.

"Then let's go." He smiled as he led the Pegasus out of the stall. Jarred then looked the horse in the eye. "Got to be good while we're flying, okay buddy?"

Knight whinnied as if to say _No promises_.

Stephanie's mouth dropped. "He let you ride him?"

Jarred just shrugged. "He doesn't want a timid kid. I kind of guessed when you said they acted calm."

Stephanie furrowed her eyebrows but nodded. "Well come on. Mount him so we can fly."

Jarred got up onto the Pegasus' back. Knight whinnied before suddenly bounding out of the stables and taking to the skies.

"Jarred!" Stephanie shouted from behind, riding on Mocha.

Jarred held on to Knight's mane for dear life. "EASY BOY!" He said demandingly.

Knight whinnied before going at a faster but steadier pace.

Jarred relaxed a bit and he could sit up straight. "Not surprised, you're cooped up in that stall all the time..."

Knight whinnied again in agreement. He flapped his wings as they went around the camp, Stephanie and Mocha right beside them.

"So?" Stephanie shouted. "What do you think?"

Jarred smiled at her. "This is great!" He called back.

Stephanie laughed and urged Mocha to go faster. Below them, campers were looking up in amazement at Jarred and Knight.

"Dude! You're riding Knight!" Jake exclaimed, waving from their cabin. "That's my boy!" He exclaimed, punching the air with his fist.

Jarred waved back, and let go of Knight's mane keeping him balanced.

After a few more minutes of flying, twisting and diving around most of the camp, Stephanie called out to the boy with her. "Jarred!"

He turned to look at her. "What?" He called back

"Do you want to find where Alice and Pascal are?" Stephanie shouted at him. "I think we can find them from up here. You wanted to talk to them right?"

At the mention of Alice's name, Knight suddenly bucked and whinnied in excitement. Jarred struggled to get Knight to calm down. "Easy boy easy! Settle down!"

Knight calmed down but only just. He was still whinnying in excitement.

"Oh I forgot to tell you! Alice was the only other one who tamed Knight before you." Stephanie said, seeing Knight's reaction.

"Well _thank you_ for telling me that _now_!" He said irritated. "Let's just go find them..."

"Sorry..." Stephanie muttered, looking down at Mocha. Knight saw and bucked for that.

Jarred gave Stephanie an apologetic look then got serious again with Knight. "Knight calm yourself!" He said sternly. "We won't see Alice if you keep acting up like this!"

Knight snorted at him as if saying, '_Then be nice to ladies!'_

"Well I would've been if I had had you under control..." He muttered unamused, then blinked shocked. "Wait a minute. Why am I talking to a Pegasus?"

Knight whinnied loudly as if laughing at the boy.

"Oh ha-ha very funny." He chuckled at the horse.

The two campers on their Pegasi flew around more of the camp, trying to find Pascal and Alice.

"I don't see them, do you?" Jarred called to Stephanie

Jarred saw Stephanie squint to try and see better. "I...I think I do!" she said, pointing over to a cliff overlooking the beach. A huge tree was planted there and from what Jarred could see, two silhouettes were sitting under it.

"Knight, you want to see Alice? Lead us down there." He told the Pegasus quietly.

Knight whinnied and went into a dive. He whinnied louder and Jarred saw the smaller of the silhouettes look around in confusion.

Jarred held tightly onto Knight's mane, he wanted to wave to the two but he couldn't. They were going too fast for him to do so.

Knight suddenly spread his wings and they slowly glided in for a smooth landing with Stephanie and Mocha right behind them.

He loosened his grip and looked down at the two. He gave a small smile to them. "Hey guys!"

"Knight! Jarred!" Alice shouted, scrambling up and running towards the black stallion. Pascal smiled softly and waved back. He slowly stood up and walked towards the Pegasi.

Jarred dismounted once Knight had landed and patted the black stallion's neck. "Nice job buddy." He told him and smiled at Alice.

Alice smiled brightly at Jarred, her eyes twinkling. Knight trotted towards Alice and rubbed his face against her neck snorting gently. Alice stroked the black stallion's mane just as Pascal and Stephanie walked over.

He stroked the stallion's neck. "He's a great Pegasus." He whispered to Alice. "Too bad we're the only ones that know how he thinks." He joked

Alice giggled then smiled at Jarred."Yeah I know." she whispered back. The she turned to Knight. "Who's a good boy Knight? That's my good boy." she cooed to the stallion. Knight whinnied and rubbed his face against Alice's neck again.

"Want to ride him back to camp with me? I think both me and him would like that." He chuckled.

Alice looked over to Pascal. He softly smiled at her and nodded. "I'll just ride on Mocha with Stephanie." He said, teasingly winking at the daughter of Aphrodite. Stephanie just rolled her eyes, chuckling.

Alice squealed and went to hug Pascal. "Thank you!" she said, kissing him on the cheek before going back to Knight and Jarred. Pascal just smiled at her before walking over to Stephanie and Mocha, his hands in his pockets.

Jarred felt himself wince seeing what she did. _They're just close friends..._ He thought, trying to reassure himself. But he knew Pascal wanted more than that from Alice. "Come on." He smiled at her happily.

Alice smiled up at Jarred and mounted on Knight. "Come on, you be front." She said, patting the space in front of her. Knight whinnied.

He smirked and got up in front of her. "Nice and steady buddy." He told Knight and patted his neck.

"Can we take our time before we go back to the cabins?" Alice asked as she wrapped her arms around Jarred's waist. "I haven't been on Knight ever since I went out of camp to go to your school."

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Anything you want." He smiled. "Let's go." He whispered to Knight, and held on tight to his black mane when he took off.

Alice laughed as she held on tight to Jarred. Below them, Jarred could see that Pascal was the one steering Mocha with Stephanie riding behind him. They seemed to be having a silent conversation.

Jarred glanced back at Alice, he liked seeing her smile and laugh. But he frowned. "Hey Alice." He said.

Alice looked at Jarred. "Yeah?"

He felt guilt pressing on his chest. "I-I'm sorry..." He said quietly.

"Sorry?" Alice said, tilting her head slightly to the side in confusion. "What for?"

He could feel his grip tighten. "With what happened...to Pascal. I know he means a lot to you and…" His voice trailed off.

Alice's confused expression melted into a soft smile. "It's alright. Neither of us is mad or even upset at you."

Jarred sighed, relaxing a bit. "Thanks..." He said quietly, but it still bugged him a bit. Being the son of Ares came with that one fault. The hunger for battle could get the best of his children, causing them to lose control in a fight. _We just have to control it the way we want. All depends on who we're fighting..._

"It's honestly alright Jarred." Alice said softly. She suddenly reached up and softly kissed him on the cheek. She smiled again before turning to look at the cabins in the distance.

He blushed and smiled gently as they landed by the stables.

Alice let go of Jarred's waist and dismounted Knight. Jarred suddenly found himself missing her warmth. Just as Pascal and Stephanie landed, a conch horn sounded in the distance.

"Oh, it's dinner time!" Alice said, her eyes twinkling.

"You guys go on ahead. I'll put Mocha and Knight back." Jarred said as he dismounted.

"No, We'll wait for you." Alice said, putting her hands in her pockets and smiling up at Jarred.

Pascal nodded as he went beside Alice, placing a hand on her shoulder.

He gave a small smile. "Alright." He said as he led the Pegasi back into the stables and to their stalls.

As he was returning Knight and going back to the others, Stephanie pulled him aside. "Jarred...can I ask you something?"

"Um, yeah sure. What is it?" Jarred asked her, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Do you like Alice?" She asked bluntly.

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**AN: don't forget to review~!**


	6. Chapter 6: Truth in the Eyes

**AN: hey guys. please review so I know if you like the story or not. I'd love to have your feed back on this please?**

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**Chapter 6**

He was silent for a few moments unsure of how to answer at first. "Why do you want to know?" He asked her calmly.

"I just want to know. Do you?" Stephanie asked again as she stared into his eyes.

He felt uncomfortable under her stare. "Yeah, I kind of do..." He said quietly.

Stephanie was silent for a minute. "You do know there's still Pascal..." she said quietly.

"He's the one that could keep me from her...I already know he loves her." He clenched his fists. "Listen, can we…can we talk about this later?"

Stephanie stared at him before nodding, her eyes sad. "Come on. They're waiting for us." she said as she took his hand and led him outside.

_She's not the only one I like... _Jarred felt sorrow come over him and he stayed quiet, his amber eyes turning to a deep chocolate brown showing he was deep into his thoughts.

Once they were outside, Jarred saw Pascal and Alice close together and talking. He also saw how Pascal looked at Alice. Like she was one of the most precious things he's ever had.

Alice looked over and saw Jarred and Stephanie's linked hands. She looked at the son of Ares and smiled as if saying, _good luck_.

Pascal saw the same thing then nodded at Jarred, a flicker of emotion crossing his eyes. The two then walked ahead of them towards the Mess Hall, with Pascal's arm over Alice's shoulders.

Jarred's eyes turned their normal color for a moment, but soon seeped back to the dark color they had been. _Maybe I should just stay in my thoughts. Gather all my pieces and patch myself up, get my head straight. Just do those things first, before I really think about a relationship... _His expression was blank, and distant. He looked as if he was far away from reality.

Jarred let Stephanie lead him to the Mess Hall then he sat down on his Cabin's table.

"What's bugging you now?" A voice to his left asked. Turning, he saw Jake looking worriedly at him.

When he blinked his eyes quickly became normal. "Hmm? Oh, nothing's wrong." He gave Jake a confused look. "What made you think something was wrong?"

"Your eyes were dim and blank a while ago kid."

"Oh, that. I get lost in thought a lot. I honestly don't know what I look like, or how I act when I do that."

Jake remained silent before shrugging. "Alright if you say so." He then proceeded to explain to Jarred about the offerings, the dinner and then the sing-along afterwards.

He listened carefully, trying his best to pay attention but he could feel his ADHD begin to act up. His mind was wandering a lot and it was beginning to get harder to focus on what his older brother had to say.

"Now. Since it's a song-along, the Apollo cabin will naturally be the ones to lead it. Understand kid?" Jake asked.

Jarred blinked a few times. _Focus!_ "Yeah, I understand." He said.

Jake nodded then stood up, carrying his plate with him. Jarred followed his older brother, still in a daze. Jake threw part of his food into the fire then looked at Jarred. Jarred did the same and glanced up at Jake. The younger boy's eyes were still dark but he knew what was going on around him. Jarred let himself be led back to the table. He could here Jake urged him to eat so he did. Maybe too little but he did.

_Listen to what Jake's saying, eat something. If you don't you won't be able to train as hard or long._ Jarred blinked a couple of times before finishing most of the food left on his plate

"Are you sure you're okay kid?" Jake asked, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. Most of the cabins have finished by now and were going to the amphitheater.

"Fine." He said snapping to attention a bit as he got up to get rid of his plate "You don't have to worry Jake, I'm fine, honest." He gave the older boy a reassuring smile.

Jake stared at him for a minute before nodding. "Alright. Leave your plate there. The nymphs will take care of it." He said before standing up.

"Alright." He said. "Come on before we're late."

The two brothers walked to the amphitheater with their other siblings, lost in their own thoughts. When they sat with the others, a soft voice reached Jarred's ears.

"Are you okay?"

He turned to look at who was talking to him, and smiled when he saw it was Alice. "Yeah I'm fine."

He saw Alice's expression turn uncertain. "Are you sure?" she softly said, brushing a tuft of Jarred's hair from his face.

_No I'm not..._ He wanted to tell her, but Jake was there. He couldn't. Instead he chuckled, "I'm fine Alice don't worry."

Alice's expression didn't change as she came closer. "You don't have to lie to me." She whispered in his ear before pulling back and smiling softly.

She then turned around and walked back to her siblings who were waiting for her so they could start.

_I'll tell you later..._ He sighed slightly, but smiled a bit waiting for them to start.

The Apollo cabin waited for the campers to quiet down before they held up their instruments. Jarred saw that most of them had guitars, a few had lyres, flutes and tambourines. He noticed that only Alice had a violin. Soon the campers were singing along, stomping their feet and clapping to the songs. The bonfire in front of them rose higher and higher in bright colors.

Jarred followed along, watching the fire, it seemed the louder they sung the higher it got.

After a few more songs, the campers slowly quieted down then turned to the Apollo cabin as if waiting for something.

Jarred looked to Jake confused, hoping he would tell him what they were waiting for.

Jake smirked at Jarred then nodded his head towards the Apollo Cabin. "Listen." he whispered.

He nodded silently watching the Apollo Cabin.

The Apollo cabin turned to Alice who was still holding up her violin. Not opening her eyes, she lightly dragged her violin bow across the strings and started playing a soothing tune to end the day. Soon a few of her siblings played along to the song.

Jarred blinked, the dark color of his eyes flashing back to bright amber. He smiled slightly. He hadn't heard music like this before.

Jarred saw Alice smile softly as she played, the moonlight hitting her and some others like a spotlight. Some of the other campers were swaying their head to the music, humming lowly.

"Ah...the Apollo cabin..." Jake whispered. "Amazing musicians aren't they? Especially Alice, their youngest sibling."

He closed his eyes, listening to each note carefully. "Yeah..." He whispered. "It's something else isn't it?"

The tune continued on for a few minutes before fading to a stop.

Jarred opened his eyes and looked to Alice. His expression told her that they needed to talk.

Jarred saw Alice nod then walk over to Pascal, whispering in his ear as she handed him her violin. Pascal whispered something back then turned to look at Jarred, his expression saying _hurt her and I will kill you_. The other campers were busy walking back to their cabins, yawning as they went.

Jarred smirked slightly. He got up, gesturing for Alice to follow as he headed to a path to the woods.

As he walked, Jarred heard light footsteps crunching leaves behind him signaling that Alice was following.

When they reached the lake, he sat in the sand bringing his knees to his chest. He looked up at her with a small smile beckoning her to sit next to him. He watched as Alice carefully walked towards him. She sat cross-legged beside him as she stared at the lake, waiting for him to start.

Jarred was looking out across the lake with soft eyes. "You play the violin beautifully." He said, not looking at her.

From the corner of Jarred's eye, he saw Alice smile softly at him. "Thank you. It's my favorite instrument."

His eyes met hers. "You're welcome." He said calmly.

Alice's eyes were twinkling in the moonlight as she continued to smile softly at Jarred.

He turned back to the lake. He wrapped his arms around his knees, gripping his jeans in his hands. "Most people don't push me to tell them what's wrong." He said. "Most don't even see through," He turned to her a slightly confused look glimmered in his eyes. "How did you know?"

Alice stared at the lake as she answered. "It's your eyes. There was something in your eyes that told me you weren't okay."

"The darkness in them." He murmured. "That's always what makes people ask, or so they've told me. I don't know what I look like or what I really do when I get lost in thought."

"Your face turns a bit blank….like you're in another world." Alice murmured.

"I am in another world but yet, I somewhat know what to do outside of that. It's complicated. I guess you could say I daydream a lot." He smiled slightly.

Alice chuckled lightly. "Yeah...I guess. I used to do that too. Sometimes even now and then recently."

"Really?" He chuckled. "I can't see that _ever_ happening with you." His voice was filled with sarcasm

Alice chuckled then pushed him lightly. "Shut up." she muttered, smiling at him.

He laughed and lay down on the sand, hands behind his head. "You do know that is never going to happen, right?" He looked up at her with a smirk.

Alice laughed. "Yeah I guess." she said before lying down beside Jarred, looking up at the stars.

"Alice." He said.

Alice turned to him, hey eyes shining from the moonlight. "Yeah?"

"Do you like Pascal?" He didn't meet her eyes. But he was curious to know. Pascal did love her after all, he wondered if she had the same feelings.

Alice stayed silent as she turned to look back at the stars. "I did. But he likes someone else..." she murmured.

Jarred looked at her. "Who?"

She didn't meet his eyes. "Stephanie. Daughter of Aphrodite." She murmured. "Pascal's been pinning for her for a long time now. I just want him to be happy…" she trailed off.

Jarred bit his tongue. He wanted to tell her that Pascal loved her, but he didn't know how Pascal would act. He chose his words carefully. "Honestly I thought he loved you. With the way he acts and all."

Alice laughed humorlessly. "We've always act like that. I'm just more reserved. You should see him when he's around Stephanie." she said. She stared up at the stars for a while before murmuring, "He's made it clear anyway. He only thinks of me as a sister."

_I'd say otherwise..._ "I see. How does he act around Stephanie?"

Alice laughed with humor this time. "Like a blubbering idiot. All clumsy and tripping over his words." she said, as she shook her head in exasperation.

He smirked. "Wow..."

"Yeah I know. You should have seen him a while ago while we were flying." Alice chuckled. "His hands were shaking with nerves so he had to put them in his pockets."

Jarred started laughing. "Oh gods. Why doesn't he just, you know, tell her!"

"The idiot's too afraid." She said, chuckling.

He shook his head. "He'll tell her eventually. Most guys do."

"I hope so. The guy's giving me a migraine with his indecision." she chuckled before quieting down. "I just really want him to be happy..."

"And he really wants you to be happy."

"Yeah...I know." Alice turned to look at Jarred. "Sorry about the look he gave you a while ago. The idiot's very overprotective." she said.

Jarred just shrugged at that. "It's nothing new. I honestly didn't give it much attention." He laughed

Alice chuckled. "If you're sure." she said before looking back up the stars.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He looked back to the sky and closed his eyes. Sound drained from his ears. All he could hear was his breathing and the sound of the waves hitting the shore, and soon, he was slowly drifting to sleep.

He heard a faint chuckle as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He was just falling deeply asleep when he felt something warm against his cheek and a faint whisper of "It's you I like..."

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**AN: review please~ feed back means a lot to me ^^**


	7. Chapter 7: Knight's Surprise

**Chapter 7**

Jarred's eyes fluttered open. The dawn sun made him have to squint as he sat up stiffly. _Man, I need to take a shower. Sand is not something I want to sleep on again._ Sleep disappeared from his eyes. _Wait a minute. Sand?_ He looked around him. He was on the shore of the lake, the water threateningly lapping at his feet.

"Good morning sleepy head." A voice said.

"And he awakes!" another voice said, amused.

Jarred shook his head, then looked at where the voices were coming from. "You two were watching me sleep?"

Pascal smirked at him while Stephanie chuckled. They were both sitting in the shade.

"Well it was fun. You were murmuring in your sleep." Pascal said.

"Both of you were actually." Stephanie added, giggling.

Jarred looked to his side and there, curled up against him, was Alice. She was still fast asleep. His face quickly turned a bright red, matching the color of his cabin. "Exactly, what was I saying in my sleep?" He knew people who talked in their sleep would often say secrets or embarrassing things.

"Nothing in particular." Pascal smirked, though he looked a bit annoyed. "Just something about Alice."

"What did I say?"

Pascal just smirked before going over to Alice. Once he was close enough, Jarred could see that there was a light pink coloring on the younger boy's cheeks.

"It's a secret." Pascal whispered mischievously as he carefully picked up Alice.

Jarred stood up. He was stiff and covered in sand and he hated it. "Fine don't tell me." He muttered irritably as he started the trek back.

Stephanie joined them as Pascal carefully moved Alice to his back. As they walked, Jarred could see that Pascal was singing something softly to Alice's ear.

Jealousy gripped him. Pascal did love Alice, but he also loved Stephanie, just like Jarred. He strained his ears so he could hear what Pascal was singing.

"Come stop your crying, it will be all right…Just take my hand, hold it tight…I will protect you from all around you…I will be here don't you cry… For one so small, you seem so strong…My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm… This bond between us can't be broken….I will be here don't you cry…" Pascal softly sung, a small smile on his face as he looked at Alice. She smiled in her sleep, her arms tightening around Pascal's neck unconsciously.

"'Cause you'll be in my heart…Yes, you'll be in my heart… From this day on, now and forever more…You'll be in my heart no matter what they say…You'll be here in my heart, always…" Pascal continued. "Always…" the last part he whispered as he kissed Alice's temple.

He clenched his fists shoving them into his coat pockets before going ahead of the others and to his cabin. Jarred slammed the door shut, making his cabin mates jump in surprise.

"Jarred, bro. What's wrong?" Jake said from his bed. "And why are you covered in sand?"

"I fell asleep by the lake, and why I'm mad is none of your business." He shot Jake a look, hoping he had made his point clear. He gathered a new pair of clothes and headed to the showers.

He turned on the showers as he stripped himself. Once the water was warm enough, he stepped inside trying to calm himself down as he concentrated on the water hitting his head.

He struggled to get the sand out of his hair but eventually got it out. _Note to self, no more falling asleep on beaches..._

_But wasn't it worth it?_ A hidden side of him asked.

He shook his head and sighed, turning off the water. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off as he stepped out. _Maybe, but that night was kind of fuzzy. More like a dream at the end._

_Are you sure? _It asked again as he put on his clothes. _It might have not been a dream..._

As he threw the towel into the hamper, he looked at his own reflection. Putting his hands on the sink he looked into the mirror with narrowed eyes. "Why do you keep convincing me like this? Telling me things that aren't true, yet I believe you." He didn't know why he expected that part of himself to even answer. It was all in his head, it wasn't real.

That part of his mind didn't answer, as he expected. Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door.

"Jarred! Are you done there? Someone's calling for you!" Jake shouted.

He sighed. "Yeah, I'll be out in a second." He said putting on his hoodie and walking out of the bathroom. Jarred looked out of the cabin and standing there, with a bag, was Alice.

Jarred stared at her for a second, slightly confused. But he smiled slightly as he walked out of the cabin. "Hey Alice."

Alice looked up and smiled shyly at him. "Hey uh...I was just wondering if you... wanted to spend some time with me?" she asked.

"I'd like that." He said, smiling at her.

Alice smiled brighter before hoisting up the messenger bag she carried higher on her shoulder. "Thanks." she said. "Let's go back to that tree from yesterday. We could ride Knight."

He nodded and started walking to the stables, Alice right beside him. "Hey Alice, I've heard some campers get to go on quests. What's up with that?"

Alice stared ahead as she answered. "Quests are given to chosen campers who have to retrieve something or to return. If they want or are assigned a quest, they will sometimes be sent to see our Oracle." She said. "The leader picks two people to go with him or her."

"That makes sense." He put his hands in his coat pocket. "Some don't come back though, do they?"

"Yeah."

Jarred just nodded. They stayed silent as they made their way towards the stables. One there, they went inside and immediately went over to Knight.

"Hey boy..." Alice said softly as she walked closer to the dark gray stallion which whinnied. "You up for a ride?"

Jarred followed her over and went inside Knight's stall. He watched as Alice mounted Knight and patted the space in front of her. "Come on, you're front again." she said, smiling.

He chuckled and got up in front. "Let's go buddy." He patted Knight's neck.

Alice wrapped her arms around Jarred's waist and pressed against him. Knight whinnied before bounding out the stables and taking flight.

Jarred smiled slightly as they flew. "Real smooth landing 'kay Knight?"

Knight snorted in response. The two flew over the cabins as they went to their destination.

After a few minutes, Jarred felt Alice press her face against his back as she sighed softly.

He sighed quietly. _This day can't get any better._

Soon, Knight whinnied then glided down to the area they found yesterday. He snorted and stomped his foot once they arrived. Jarred hoped off, and helped Alice down.

As Alice was dismounting, Knight suddenly bucked and threw Alice into Jarred's arms, their face inches from each other. Behind them, Knight whinnied loudly as if laughing.

Jarred's cheeks flushed as he held her in his arms while Alice blushed a deep red and gulped as she stared at Jarred's face.

They stared at each other before he gently leaned closer to her, closing the space between their lips.

Jarred felt Alice freeze in shock. Disappointment and fear wash over him but as he was about to pull away, Alice was kissing him back.

_ Nope, I take that back...Now this day is better._


	8. Chapter 8: Rabbit's Tree

**Chapter 8**

The two remained like that for a few moments before Jarred pulled back.

Alice's face was deep red as she scrambled up and stood in front of Jarred, not meeting his eyes.

"Uhm...yeah...uh..." she said, scratching the back of her head.

His eyes fell to his feet, he hands held behind his back as he fiddled with his fingers. "I-I'm sorry..." He muttered. _Why did I do that?! That was such a stupid decision..._

"I-it's alright." Alice muttered as she fiddled with the strap of her bag.

"I shouldn't have done that." The other part of his mind was putting him down. That's _all you can think of to say is "I shouldn't have done that." Why shouldn't you have done that?! You love her don't you? It's more of a crush. Still counts, so what's holding you back? Pascal._ He forced himself out of his thoughts, now wasn't the time to argue with himself about it.

Alice just stayed silent. He thought he saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face. "S-sure." She said, the blush slowly leaving her face. Without meeting his eyes, she walked past him as she went to sit under the tree.

He followed her and sat beside her. _That wasn't the right thing to say... _He looked at Alice softly, tentatively taking her hand.

Alice pulled back, not meeting his eyes. "It's okay...don't worry about it." She murmured before turning to her bag.

"Alice please." His eyes glinted with sadness and fear. _I was so close, now I've ruined it..._

She stayed silent before murmuring, "What is it..."

He couldn't find the words to fit what he wanted to say, so he pulled her close to him in a hug. "Please don't leave." He whispered.

"I won't..." she replied quietly but didn't hug him back.

He let go of her. "I said the wrong thing before." He murmured looking at the ground. "_That's_ what I shouldn't have done."

"It's alright..." Alice murmured before turning back to her bag. Knight whinnied softly before settling down beside the two.

Jarred sighed leaning back against the tree. _I've messed up a lot in my life, but this is something I can't forget, and probably won't be able to fix completely._

The two fell into a slightly uneasy silence as Alice pulled out a small notebook and a pencil from her bag. Jarred watched as she opened it to a blank page in the middle and started sketching, looking up and staring at Knight before looking back at the paper.

"Drawing Knight?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah..." Alice murmured, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

Jarred kept silent after that, not wanting to disturb her concentration. His ADHD started acting up. He had to do something instead of sit. He started climbing up the tree.

As he was almost at the top, he heard Alice shout. "What are you doing?"

"Uhm, climbing." He called back. Alice had suddenly quieted down so Jarred looked to check. Alice was halfway up the tree towards him.

"Wait up!" she shouted.

He laughed and sat on one of the higher branches. "You should've stayed down there!" He said and hung upside down from the branch, crossing his arms.

Alice stuck out her tongue at him in response and started climbing higher.

"What if I fall! Who's going to catch me?" He said fear in his voice, but it was playful.

"Knight will!" Alice playfully shouted back as she sat on a branch facing Jarred. Knight whinnied in response from the base of the tree.

"I don't trust him with that!" He laughed.

Knight snorted and whinnied in response. Alice laughed. "I think he said that he can do it."

"I guess." He shrugged and sat up. "Whoa my head feels weird..."

"Well you did hang upside down." Alice snickered.

"I know what I did!" He stuck his tongue out at her. "We must be _really_ high up though..."

Alice stuck out her tongue then laughed. Jarred noticed that the twinkle was back in her eye. "Yeah I know."

He smiled softly. "Knight!" He called to the stallion. "Get ready!"

Knight whinnied then took off, flying beneath them.

"See ya' down there." He winked at Alice before jumping off the branch.

Knight whinnied. He swooped down and caught Jarred just as he was halfway down. Jarred laugh, holding onto Knight's mane. "Come on Rabbit jump!" He called to Alice.

"My name's not Rabbit!" Alice shouted down, laughing as she stared at the two.

"I know it's not, but I'm gonna call you that from now on!" He laughed.

Alice laughed then stood up on the branch. "Ready Knight?" she shouted down. Knight whinnied as he circled the tree.

Jarred looked up at her with a smile. "Now Alice!" He called up to her.

Alice hesitated before jumping off, screaming all the way. "JARRED!"

He reached out catching her in his arms. "Careful Rabbit." He chuckled. Alice blinked a couple of times before smiling up at him. His gaze softened as he held her in his arms. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as Alice looked back at him.

"Knight, can you take us back down?" He told the Pegasus. Knight whinnied before gliding down. Alice wrapped her arms around Jarred's neck as she looked down at the ground. He held her closer to him as he dismounted and put her on her feet.

"That was great!" Alice said as she smiled up at Jarred, slightly skipping towards the bag.

"Yeah it was. So what's in the bag anyway?"

"Just my drawing materials." Alice said, picking up the sketchpad. "Look." she showed him the page she was drawing on. On the page was a detailed drawing of Knight as the Pegasus was lying down.

"That's really good." He said smiling at the picture.

"Thank you!" She said, closing the sketchpad and putting it in her bag. She turned around and smiled up at Jarred, her eyes shining.

Jarred smiled at her and pulled her close to him, his arms wrapped around her waist. He saw Alice's eye widen as her cheeks reddened. He could feel her heartbeat beat faster as she stared up at him.

He gently kissed her and closed his eyes.

Alice stayed still for a moment before he felt her kissing him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He drew her closer to him, this felt right, him and her. Together like this. He could feel their hearts pounding as he prolonged the kiss. He shivered a bit when Alice tangled her fingers in his hair.

"Alice?" a voice suddenly called out. A _very_ familiar voice. "Where are y-"

Jarred pulled away hearing the voice. His eyes widened slightly seeing Pascal standing there.


	9. Chapter 9: Sibling Love

**Chapter 9**

Pascal's face was frozen in shock as he looked between the two. Alice's face was bright red as she looked down at her feet, slightly hiding behind Jarred. He tightened his grip around her a bit, looking at Pascal for any sign that he was going to do something he would regret.

Pascal's shocked face changed into an emotionless mask. "Alice...can I talk to you please?" He said in an emotionless voice, staring hard at Jarred.

Jarred whispered in Alice's ear. "Just be careful okay? He may not be taking this well." He gave her a thoughtful yet concerned look as he let go of her.

"He won't hurt me..." Alice whispered as she slowly went to Pascal. Pascal stared at Jarred for a minute before leading her away, just out of earshot.

Jarred sighed and sat under the tree waiting for Alice to come back. He was worried though, and climbed up the tree to where he could hear them talk yet stay out of their eye sight.

"That fast huh." He heard Pascal say.

"Yeah…"

Pascal stayed silent before speaking up. "Are you sure about him?"

"Yes…You already know how I felt about Jarred, Pascal."

"Yes I do…Look Alice…I just don't want you to get hurt. You're my little sister. And I just want you to be happy."

"I know…"

"Just be careful okay? You know how over protective I can be."

"Yeah, I know…I promise."

"You'll always be my little sister…You'll always be in my heart." Pascal said. Jarred saw him wrap his arms around Alice.

"Always." Alice replied, as she hugged him back. Pascal kissed her head before letting her go, smiling.

"I'll always be here for you Alice. Be happy okay?" He said as he walked away.

"You know I am for you too." Alice told him. "Good luck with Stephanie Pascal."

Jarred saw Pascal nod as he waved. Alice smiled slightly as she walked back to the tree. She sat down and sighed. "I know you were listening."

When he was sure Pascal was gone, Jarred got to a low branch where he jumped to the ground. "I always thought he had a crush on you to be honest." He said looking at the direction the younger boy had gone.

"Yeah me too." Alice said. "But that was years ago."

"I just figured from the way he acted. Plus, when I first met him and he gave you the flowers. When you left he said, and I quote, _"Isn't she amazing?"_ "

Alice chuckled as she ran her hand through her hair. "He's always done that. He my idiot of a best friend remember? He does that as a kind of test I think."

"Really? Wow, he must really want to make sure you pick the right guy huh?" He laughed.

Alice laughed. "Yeah, I know."

Jarred put his arm around her. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

Alice smiled softly up at him. "Yeah…"

"Come on, let's get Knight back to the stables, it's almost time for lunch."

"Alright. After this." Alice said before kissing him gently on the lips as she closed her eyes.

He smiled slightly kissing her back. He could feel Alice smile against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Jarred pulled her close to him, he was happy, there with her and didn't want it to ever end. _But happiness never lasts long for you, does it? _He was really beginning to hate that part of his mind.

Jarred was sitting at his cabin's table, talking to his brothers and sisters happily. They talked about Capture the Flag and their classes as they ate.

"Yo Jarred. How was your little...um...escapade with a certain daughter of Apollo?" One of his siblings asked, smirking.

His face flushed slightly as he glared at his sibling. "That's none of your business."

His siblings laughed loudly, causing the other campers to turn to their table.

"Come on Jarred. Tell us!" Jake laughed.

Jarred didn't answer, in fact he completely ignored them and continued to eat. He wasn't going to have this conversation now, especially when all the other campers were staring.

"Aww he's ignoring us." One of his siblings said in a fake hurt tone.

"Maybe we should ask the Apollo Cabin." Another said in a mischievous tone.

Jarred froze for a small second, and then continued ignoring them. His sibling laughed and clapped Jarred on the back.

"Still won't talk huh?" One of them said then turned to the Apollo table. "Hey! Apollo kids!" He shouted. The whole Apollo table turned to look questioningly at the Ares table.

"Gods no..." He groaned. "You guys just live for this don't you...?"

"Yes." They all said, smirking, before turning towards the Apollo table.

"Do you know something about our brother here?" Jake said, shaking Jarred's shoulder.

Jarred sighed. "Jake, you do know what I'm going to do to you after this right?"

"Of course!" Jake said, smiling at his flustered brother.

Turning back to the Apollo table, the Ares table saw that they look confused except for one. Jarred saw Alice staring at her food, her cheeks slightly pink. Jarred sighed, his siblings apparently didn't know the term of 'privacy'.

The Ares table laughed. "So there she is!" one of them said, clapping Jarred on the shoulder. "Nice one bro." he said.

Alice blushed harder as her siblings began teasing her too. The other campers were snickering at them.

He shot Jake a look that said _I'm-going-to-knock-you-into-next-week_.

Jake just laughed and clapped Jarred on the shoulder.

"You guys think you're so funny but you really aren't." He said bitterly continuing to eat

"Oh come on Jarred. Lighten up." Jake said. The Mess hall was slowly emptying of campers as they went towards their camp activities. Jarred saw Alice leave with her siblings, rubbing her neck and her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment

Jarred just sighed as he got up following some of the other campers. He had Arts and Crafts next and didn't want to be late like last time.

He had just sat down with his siblings when the Apollo cabin arrived. Jarred mentally groaned. _How could I forget? Our cabin has Archery _and_ Arts and Crafts with the Apollo kids._

He watched as the Apollo kids took their seats. He spotted Alice with two of her sisters.

A couple of his siblings snickered beside him. One of them elbowed Jarred lightly then nodded towards Alice. Jarred looked up and saw that Alice's two sisters were whispering in her ear while occasionally throwing glances at him. Jarred's cheeks turned pink and he looked down at his feet. Things never stay a secret in this camp...

Jarred saw a few of his and Alice's siblings look amused at the two of them. Just then, a senior camper came in and gave them their task, oblivious the mood of the room.


	10. Chapter 10: Past's Fear

**Chapter 10**

Jarred silently walked through the forest. Ancient Greek had been boring, just review of what they learned yesterday. He sighed, not only that but his cabin had kept teasing him about Alice.

As he was walking, he suddenly heard some faint music. He strained his ears but he was sure of it. He was hearing violin music. He headed towards the music. The closer he got the more he recognized the sound.

He walked out of the line of trees and found Alice sitting on a blanket at the shore of the lake. Her back was facing him as she slowly played a tune on the violin.

He walked over to her, silently watching her play.

Soon, Alice finished playing and just stared at the lake shimmering in the sun.

"Jarred..." he heard her murmur. He felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the adoration in her voice. Jarred sat beside her, looking out across the lake.

Alice jumped and turned to look at him with wide eyes. "J-jarred! When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago."

"Oh..." Alice trailed off then looked at the lake.

He gently took her hand in his own. "What was that song you were playing?"

He saw Alice smile softly. "No song in particular. I just played whatever tune my emotions give me." She said, entwining her fingers with his.

Jarred smiled slightly as he looked at her. He knew she had felt love while playing.

Alice's eyes softened as she looked back at the boy beside her. She then slowly leaned towards him, her eyes never leaving his.

Their lips were about to meet when an all too familiar voice broke them apart.

"Hello. What do we have here." said an amused voice coupled with a few snickers in the background. Jarred turned around and saw Jake and a few of his siblings. Jarred groaned and fell onto his back showing his irritation.

"What do we have here indeed." Another voice said. Looking around, Jarred saw Arcus and few of Alice's siblings behind him. Alice blushed and fiddled with her fingers.

"What do you guys want?!" He snapped as he sat back up.

"No need to snap." Arcus said calmly. "We were just wondering where Alice went to." He continued before taking Alice's violin, promising to bring it to the cabin.

"Well I believe you guys, but I was actually talking to Jake..." He shot his older brother a look.

Jake grinned at him. "Just the same. We were wondering where you went." he said, smirking slightly.

"It's true, right guys?" Jake asked, turning to the others who nodded.

"I can go off on my own Jake, I don't have to be under supervision twenty-four seven."

Jake chuckled. "Alright. You got me." he said. "We were curious."

Jarred muttered a Greek curse under his breath.

"Jake, while you're here. I've been meaning to talk to you." Arcus said, walking over to the head counselor for Ares. "It's about the Capture The Flag this Friday."

Jarred looked at Alice unamused. "Slip away while they're distracted?" He whispered to her. Alice nodded at him, she eyes shining.

He put a finger to his lips as he got up and quietly led them away from their siblings. As they were escaping, Jarred felt her hand in his, entwining their fingers.

"Wait a minute...Where did they go?" Jarred heard Jake shout. Jarred suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming towards them.

He pulled her into the shadows of a few trees. When Jarred turned to Alice he blushed, not noticing how close together they were.

He could see Alice blushing as they shifted in the shadows, their bodies pressed against each other. The sounds of their siblings' footsteps faded as they went further away and soon, they were all alone.

Jarred smiled slightly at her. "Come on, let's go or they'll find us again."

"I don't think they'll find us here..." He heard Alice say very quietly as if he wasn't meant to hear her say it.

He didn't look her in the eye as he slid out of the trees. Jarred felt Alice walk beside him as they silently explored the shadows of the forest.

"How far do the woods go?" He asked.

"I don't really know." He heard Alice murmur. "I don't think this part has been explored yet."

"So that means monsters could be here then huh?"

"Maybe...Maybe not. I'm not sure."

"That's reassuring..." He felt a shiver run up his spine. An uneasy feeling tugging at him. _Oh great..._

"Jarred? What's wrong?"

"Uneasy feeling, and if there's _anything_ I've learned from that is that something bad is going to happen."

He heard Alice wince and move closer to him, clutching his hoodie.

He shuddered again. "Come on, let's go..." He started to cautiously lead them back to the camp ground.

"Okay..." Alice muttered, walking closer to Jarred.

Jarred put his arm around her pulling her close. He felt like prey, as if something was watching them waiting for the right moment to attack.

Alice was shivering slightly in his arms as they continued to move forward.

Jarred froze hearing a low growl. _Hellhound..._

He felt Alice freeze too before she started shaking violently. Jarred suddenly remembered what Jake told him before. _Out of the blue, hellhounds attacked their apartment... mothers didn't make it... followed until camp... Arrived half-dead..._

He narrowed his eyes and kept going. He didn't have his weapon. If the hellhound attacked they wouldn't be able to defend themselves.

Alice was whimpering slightly in his arms, holding onto Jarred with a death grip.

"It's ok Alice..." He gently cooed to her. "It's ok..."

Alice's death grip loosened slightly but still her eyes had a slightly wild look on them.

As the growling grew louder he grew more anxious to just run, but he knew that provoke it to attack quicker.

Soon, they managed to leave the forest tree line.

"Alice! Jarred! There you are!" Jarred looked around and saw Arcus running towards them, his sword in the sheath on his belt.

"Arcus why do you have your sword?" He looked slightly confused. _Great first question, why not "Why did something bad happen?" instead._

Arcus stopped in front of them, a confused look on his face. "I always have a sword. Training remember?"

Jarred face-palmed. "Right sorry, minds on...other things." He glanced worriedly to where they had come from.

"Right. Well anyway, you two start training. This week's Capture the Flag game is in two days. The Ares, Apollo, and Hermes cabins are allied against the Athena, Demeter, Dionysus and Hephaestus cabins." Arcus said before moving back towards the arena.

He opened his mouth to say something but Arcus was already gone. "Come on Alice." He looked at the girl still clinging to his hoodie.

Alice whimpered before suddenly wrapping her arms around Jarred, shaking like a leaf. "D-don't leave m-me."

He held her close to him. "I'm not going to leave you..." He whispered in her ear, he couldn't' even imagine how scared she was.

Alice buried her face in Jarred's chest as she clung desperately at him. She was still shaking like she was trying not to cry.

He rested his head on hers. "Shh...It's ok, it's ok."

They stayed like that for a while until Alice's shivering lessened though she still clung to Jarred.

"Come on." He whispered to in her ear before leading her to the arena.

All the way, Alice had Jarred's hoodie in a death grip, her knuckles white. "I'm...I'm just going to...shoot arrows..." she said, her voice cracking slightly.

Jarred glanced down at her. "For practice?"

"Y-yeah..." she said, looking down at her feet. She refused meet his eyes.

He stopped walking and made her look him in the eye. "Alice, listen, I know what happened when you were little. Jake told me. But, I want you to know that you don't have to be scared when I'm with you. I'll protect you, I promise."

Alice stared up at Jarred with fear still lingering in her eyes. They stared at each other before Alice wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his chest again and Jarred saw a few tears leak out of her eyes as she clung desperately at him.

Jarred closed his eyes as he held her close, his own words ringing in his mind. _I'll protect you, I promise..._

"What's going on here? Jarred, what happened to her?"

Jarred opened his eyes to see Pascal. "We almost got attacked by a hellhound in the woods."

Pascal's eye widened and he immediately went towards them. He put a hand on her shoulder then looked at Jarred with sad eyes. "Let me take care of her for now. Please Jarred."

He seemed reluctant, then got Alice to look up at him. "Go with Pascal okay?" He told her gently.

Alice nodded then Pascal lifted her up into his arms. Pascal gave Jarred a small sad smile. "Thank you..." he whispered before he carried Alice in the direction of the cabins.

Jarred watched him go, he couldn't comfort her like the way Pascal could. He sighed and headed to the arena, though training was probably the last thing he wanted to do.

* * *

**Enjoy~**


	11. Chapter 11: Unlikely Children of Ares

**Chapter 11**

Sweat dripped down Jarred's face as he thrust and slashed at the straw dummies. He was in training with his siblings and the Athena cabin.

It has already been two months since his and Alice's almost encounter with a hellhound. Pascal had managed to calm her down and soon everything was back to normal.

Training went on for the next two months and the camp added a few new demigods to its numbers and him, a couple of new siblings.

Jarred sighed sticking his spear into the ground to lean on slightly.

"Jarred." Twin voices sounded behind him. Jarred looked around and saw his two new siblings.

Aiden and Hunter Davis were five year old twins who arrived at camp a few weeks ago. They both have messy dark brown hair and, for some reason, amber-brown eyes like Jarred but just a bit darker. They were completely identical except for how they wore their head accessories. They both wore a red and a purple cloth. Aiden, the older twin, wears the red cloth over the purple while Hunter wears the purple over the red.

Jarred was assigned to be responsible for the twins and soon, he grew fond of them and them of him. Alice adored the twins and they adored her. Some campers even joked that the twins were Jarred and Alice's kids.

He smiled at the twins. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"When is training over? We want to see Alice." they said at the same time. Jarred noticed at the beginning that the twins tend to speak at the same time or finish each other's sentences.

_Just a twin thing..._ That was always his answer for the odd behavior they had. "Oh, we got another good twenty minutes. But," He got a mischievous glint in his eye. "I do know how we can go see her right now."

The twin's faces lit up. "What? What? Tell us!" they said, crowding over to Jarred.

"Shh, we don't want to get caught." He glanced around to make sure no one was watching them. "Alright come on." He gave Efialtis a twirl watching it turn back into a wooden staff. Slipping it into its sheath he led the twins away from the others. Jarred felt proud of himself as they cut through the woods, ever since that day with his and Alice's almost encounter, he had gone through those woods dozens of times searching for it, yet came up with nothing. Although he came up empty handed, he gained knowledge of the forest, knowing every twist and turn.

The twins easily ran beside Jarred, laughing all the way. "We're gonna see Alice. We're gonna see Alice." The twins chanted quietly, and then laughed.

Jarred chuckled, he had always loved the boys' enthusiasm. Sometimes it was hard for him to believe that they were also sons of Ares.

"Are we-" Aiden started.

"-there yet? Hunter finished.

"Almost." He looked around, and spotted the Apollo kids. "Alright guys, remember that bird call I taught you?"

"Yeah!" The two said, their amber eyes, much like Jarred's, shone with excitement.

"Alright, I need you guys to do that right now okay? Alice and I decided that when we do this sort of thing, that that's going to be our signal."

"Okay!" The twins simultaneously cupped their hands to their mouths and did the bird call Jarred taught them.

Jarred listened to the call silently, it sounded like the call of a hawk.

From the Apollo Cabin, Jarred could see Alice carefully slip out of the cabin and head towards the direction of the sound the twins made. Once she entered the forest, she looked around.

"Jarred? Where are you?" she called out.

"Over here." He called back.

Alice turned towards Jarred's voice. She only walked a couple of steps before she was tackled down to the ground.

"Alice!" the twins shouted from atop the daughter of Apollo. Alice laughed and ruffled their hair.

"Hey easy guys." Jarred walked over and picked up Aiden in his arms.

Aiden laughed then squirmed out of Jarred's arms. Together, he and Hunter help Alice up and hugged her legs. "Hi Alice!" they said together.

Jarred gave Alice a gentle smile, but it soon turned mischievous. "Come here Alice give me a hug!"

Alice squealed when Jarred wrapped his arms around her. "Jarred! You're all sweaty!" she screamed as she laughed.

"That's the point of this!" He laughed.

Alice laughed and managed to squirm away. "I just showered Jarred!" she said, as she laughed. The twins were leaning against each other for support as they laughed.

"Like I would know that."

Alice stuck her tongue out then laughed. "Don't you three have training now with the Athena cabin?" she asked as she eyed the three boys in front of her.

"No..." Jarred kicked a stone glancing away from her.

Alice raised an eyebrow as she tried to with a smile. "Aiden? Hunter?" she turned to the twins.

He looked at the boys silently pleading they wouldn't say.

The twins squirmed under Alice's gaze. Suddenly they threw themselves at Alice. "Yes we do! Please don't be mad at us!" they said, hugging her legs and pleadingly looking up at her. "Please don't be mad at us!"

"She won't be mad, and if she is, I know how to make up for it." He smirked at Alice.

Alice blushed at Jarred then ruffled the twin's hair. "Well they're most likely finished anyway. Come on, let's go have lunch." She said before picking Aiden up. Hunter ran to Jarred and lifted his arms expectantly.

Jarred picked up Hunter and put him on his shoulders.

The four made their way towards the Mess Hall. Once there, Alice put Aiden down and the young boy ran towards Jarred as Alice went to the Apollo table.

He watched Alice walk off, his eyes full of adoration.

Aiden laughed and pulled on Jarred's hoodie. "Come one Jarred!"

"We're hungry!" Hunter added, laughing with his twin.

He snapped out of his daze. "Oh, right, I'm coming I'm coming." He led them to their cabin's tablet and put Hunter down. Aiden joined his brother and together they went to the pyre for their offering.

"Are you sure they're not your kids?" Jake asked as he sat beside Jarred.

"I'm very sure..." he rolled his eyes as he took his plate to give his offering.

"We'll they sure act like it." Jake snickered as he followed Jarred. "Where were you three at training?"

"We were there." Jarred said calmly.

"You were in the beginning but during the last twenty minutes you weren't."

"Yes we were."

"No you weren't."

"Yes we were." He rolled his eyes. "You must be going blind."

Jake smirked then turned to the twins. "Boys, where were you three during the last twenty minutes of training?"

The twins looked up from their plates, their faces full of chocolate cake. "Huh?" They said, tilting their head to the side at the same time. A trait they picked up from Alice.

"Jake we were there!" Jarred shook his head as he headed back to their seat.

"Fine. I'll let it slide this time but Jarred?" Jake called out. "Why are the twins eating _chocolate cake_ for lunch?"

"I don't control what they eat, sorry." He shrugged sitting down.

"Alice is not going to be happy." Jake muttered as he sat down.

"I know, I know."

"JARRED!"

"And that's my cue." Jake said as he moved away from Jarred.

Jarred sighed as he turned around. "Yes Alice?"

"Why are the twins eating chocolate cake for lunch?" she said calmly. The twins on the other hand were looking at each other with wide eyes and frantically wiping cake off their faces.

"I wasn't watching them, Jake was distracting me with a question and they went on ahead." He seemed relaxed unafraid of how mad she could really be.

At that, Alice turned her glare at Jake who seemed to shrink back. "Is this true?" she asked. The rest of Ares table were snickering.

He opened his mouth to explain but no sound would come out so he just nodded, fear in his eyes.

Alice sighed before turning back to Jarred. "Clean the boys up and keep an eye on them. I'll see you three at Arts and Crafts." She told Jarred before walking out of the mess hall. "Sugar and ADHD so do _not_ mix." he heard her muttering.

Jarred chuckled and helped the boys get the chocolate off of their faces. "She won't be mad long, you guys are such sissies"

"Jarred." the twins whined as they came out of their last class for the day. Now they had free period.

Jarred's eye twitched.

After lunch, Aiden and Hunter were twitchy, hyped up with sugar, ADHD twins. They kept pestering Jarred about trivial things and bothering the other campers. Jarred's patience was ready to snap when the twins finally came down from their sugar high.

Jarred heaved a sigh. _Thank the gods..._

"Jarred." the twins whined again. "Where's Alice?"

"I don't know guys." He said calmly, he actually did but he wanted some alone time with Alice. They hadn't had some real alone time with one another since the twins arrived.

The twins looked at each other then back at Jarred. "Can we go bug Jake? We're bored!" they said at the same time.

"Sure, just don't get him too irritated." He chuckled.

"Okay!" The twins shouted before running off towards the Ares cabin.

Jarred headed to the Apollo cabin once the twins were gone, and knocked on the door.

Jarred head a muffled thump and someone curse in Greek. After a few moments the door opened and Arcus looked out of the door, eyes sleepy. He blinked when he saw it was Jarred. "What can I do for you Jarred?"

Jarred smiled at the older boy. His and Arcus' rocky friendship had gotten better over time because of Alice.

"You know where Alice is?"

Arcus yawned. "Yeah. She's here. Want me to get her?"

"Yeah."

"Sure. Hold on." Arcus replied before going back in the cabin. Jarred heard another thump and a muttered curse. There was a lot of shuffling before Alice walked out the door.

"Hi Jarred." she said, smiling up at him with a sleepy look in her eyes.

"Hey sleepyhead." He teased.

Alice stuck out her tongue at him in response. "How was the rest of the day with the twins?" she asked, taking his hand and leading him to a secluded part of the lake.

"Exhausting."

"Well you did let them eat chocolate cake for lunch." she said, sitting down under the shade of a tree.

He sat down next to her, putting his arm around her. "Yeah I know. Right now they're bugging Jake. I told them I didn't know where you were."

Alice just nodded and yawned. She moved to sit between Jarred's legs and leaned back against his chest. Jarred wrapped his arms around her waist and sighed quietly. "This is our first time alone since the twins arrived at camp."

"Yeah, I know." he heard Alice murmur. "Those two can be a handful."

"You think we could make a time in the week to just be alone with one another?" He asked, looking out across the lake.

"I'd like that." Alice murmured before reaching up and kissing Jarred just under his ear.

He smiled slightly and tilted her face up so he could kiss her. He felt Alice smile against his lips as she cupped his face in her hand. Jarred pulled away after a few moments, smiling gently. Alice smiled at him, her eyes soft as she stroked his cheek.

He laid his head back against the tree. "Oh right I almost forgot." He sat up and pulled something from his pocket. It was a silver chain necklace with a violin charm on the end.

Alice's eyes widened. "It's beautiful..." she murmured, staring at the necklace.

He gently placed it in her hand. "I got my mom to custom make it from the jewellery store. A satyr helped her get it into camp."

"Wow..." Alice murmured as she looked at the charm.

"I know violin's your favorite instrument so that's the one I decided to put as the charm."

Alice's face split into a bright smile as she looked at Jarred. "Thank you!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips.

He kissed her back before pulling back. "It's nothing really."

"It's beautiful. Thank you." she said smiling at him. "Help me put this on." she gave him the necklace as she turned around.

He unclipped it and put it around her neck, adjusting the chain so it wasn't too loose or too tight. Alice held up the necklace and stared at the charm. It glinted bright in the sunlight. Turning to Jarred, she smiled brightly and kissed his cheek.

Jarred smiled. "Glad you like it." He told her quietly.

Alice smiled softly at him, her eyes twinkling. She leaned back against Jarred's chest. "I love it..." she murmured.

He held her close to him. "And I love you."

"I love you too..."

* * *

**AN: Hey guys, Nazz here. I hope you've been liking our story so far. It's our first one so it's a bit rough.**

**'Til next time ^^**


	12. Chapter 12: Twin Trait

**Thanks for the reviews ^^**

**They mean so much to me :D**

**I'll update as soon as I can~**

**To raisa864:**

**The twins are one of my favorites really ^^**

**Thanks for being my first reviewer 3**

**Hmm...Jalice maybe? ahaha**

**I do not Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

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**Chapter 12**

"Jarred. Jarred. Jarred." twin voices whined.

Jarred mumbled something still asleep.

There was murmuring before the voices spoke again. "Jarred. Alice is at the lake wearing a swimsuit."

Jarred's eyes flashed open and he sat up wide awake. "She's what?"

He heard laughing beside him and turned to see the twins on the floor, clutching their stomachs from the laughter.

"I told you that would wake him up!" Aiden laughed out as Hunter pounded his hand on the floor, tears leaking from their eyes.

Jarred looked around him and saw his other siblings snickering.

His face grew bright red. "I am going to strangle you two one of these days..." He muttered throwing the covers back over his head. "But I can't. It's not right. And Alice would have my head for it."

"Yeah coz she loves us." The twins said.

"But seriously Jarred." Aiden said.

"Alice really is-" Hunter continued.

"-at the Lake wearing-"

"-a swimsuit."

"And she told us to come get you!" They finished together.

Jarred got up. "Alright, I'm up." He grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom to change.

Jarred could hear the twins snickering. "Hurry up Jarred! We're already dressed!" they shouted through the door.

He rolled his eyes and stepped out; wearing his swim trunks, flip flops and the usual camp T-shirt. "Alright let's go."

The twins grinned up at him. They were wearing their camp shirt and swimming trunks. With their signature head accessories, it was really hard to tell them apart. They were slightly damp showing that they already had a dip in the lake.

Jarred ruffled their hair as he headed out the door. As he was walking, the twins suddenly clung to Jarred's legs; one twin each.

He stuck his staff into the ground to keep from falling. "What in the name of the gods are you guys doing?"

"You are now our prisoner!" One of the twins said as he clung on Jarred's right leg.

"Bring us to the lake!" The other boy said as he clung to Jarred's left leg.

He chuckled and started walking, er, dragging his feet to get to the lake. "This is going to be a slow process with you guys on my legs..."

"Bring us to the lake!" They replied, each pointing a finger in the direction of the camp lake.

Jarred sighed and continued dragging his feet. By the time they got there Jarred was panting and leaning on his staff for support. "Alright, off, now."

"What have you two done now? I told you to fetch him. Not to make him your personal transport here."

He looked up at Alice. "Get them off before I end up thro-" He stopped himself and smiled slyly. He gave Alice a look as if to _say can I please throw them into the lake?_

Alice shook her head. "Alright you two, get off Jarred." she said. The twins snickered then unlatched themselves from Jarred and ran to the lake.

"Thanks." He said standing up straighter.

"You're welcome" she said as she hugged him. Looking down, he saw that she was wearing a dark blue and gray bikini top with swimming shorts.

His cheeks turned bright pink. "H-How come you didn't come get me?" _Did I just, stutter? Oh geez, I'm in for it..._

He saw Alice smirk. "Did you just stutter?"

"N-No!" _Gods I did it again! Why am I stuttering?! That's easy, you think she looks hot in a bathing suit. Gah! Shut up!_

"Yes you are Jarred!" Alice chuckled. "Aww you look so cute when you're flustered."

"S-Shut up!" He said irritated. _She's right you know._ "And you stop messing with my head!" He froze. _Please tell me I didn't say that out loud. Okay, but if I did say that, I would be lying._

"Are you talking to yourself?" Alice said, smiling in amusement.

"M-Maybe..." He could feel his cheeks get warmer as he looked down at his feet, fists clenched.

Alice just smiled and kissed his cheek. "You look so cute Jarred." she said before skipping towards her blanket.

He followed her over, his eyes were dark. They hadn't been like that for at least a month.

Alice smiled up at Jarred and patted the blanket. "Sit down Jarred." she chuckled. Jarred did as he was told and sat next to her. He looked to the twins who were splashing and playing in the water.

"Alright Jarred. What's the matter?" Alice said, turning to look at him.

He looked down at her. "What do you mean?" The brightness returned to his eyes.

"Your eyes were dark again. What were you thinking?' she said, slightly tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Just arguing with my conscience. It messes with my head." He laughed. "You know it's that tiny little voice that tells you right or wrong?"

"Oh..." She replied before standing up. "Want to swim with me?" she said, her eyes twinkling.

"Sure." He smiled, and took off his t-shirt before standing up. He saw Alice staring at him. She blinked then looked away, her face red.

He smirked and took her hand. As he led her to the dock he got a sly glint to his eye.

Alice saw it and looked warily at Jarred. "Jarred...What are you..."

Jarred scooped her up in his arms and tossed her into the lake. He jumped in right after her. When Jarred resurfaced, he saw Alice spluttering water. She gave him a half-hearted glare before splashing him in the face. They could hear the twins roaring with laughter near the shore.

Jarred narrowed his eyes at her, his hair falling over his eyes. "You should've known not to trust me." He gave a sly smile.

Alice just smiled back at him. She leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Pulling back, she winked at him before they heard voices.

"Unfair guys! You didn't wait for us!"

There on the shore stood Pascal and Stephanie. The son of Hermes was wearing blue and black swimming trunks and goggles on his messy sandy brown hair. Stephanie stood beside him wearing a regular black bikini. They had gotten together only a few weeks ago.

"I didn't even know you two were coming." Jarred stuck his tongue out at them playfully.

Pascal just laughed at him. "Well we're here now. Arcus and Jake said that they're coming later. They just have to sort out a few things."

He nodded as he pushed his hair out of his eyes. He suddenly went under the surface of the lake. Looking through the dark water he made out a girl waving to him. She had a hold of his ankle. _Naiads..._

He saw someone else being pulled down. Another Naiad had pulled Alice down a bit deeper that him. Jarred got loose of the Naiad's grasp and pointed to Alice sternly as if saying _Let her go._ The Naiad pouted at him but let go of Alice.

He swam to the surface, Alice right beside him. He coughed slightly as he caught his breath. "Why do they insist on doing that?!"

Alice was still coughing beside him. "Maybe…they just want to play?" Alice said weakly, taking deep breaths.

"Are you guys okay?" Pascal said from the shore.

Jarred coughed a few more times. "Fine, but be careful, the Naiads think we can breathe underwater."

Alice nodded then reassured Pascal that they were fine.

"Jarred." The twins whined.

He looked to the boys. "What is it?"

"We're hungry!"

He laughed and swam to shore. "Pascal did you bring anything, or do we have to go to the mess hall?"

Pascal grinned at him and held up a picnic basket. "I nicked some food from the kitchens." He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"As expected from the son of Hermes." He laughed.

"Of course." Pascal replied as he bowed jokingly at the older boy.

"Go get something to eat you guys." Jarred ruffled Hunter's hair.

The twins then ran to Pascal and grabbed the picnic basket. They went back to the blanket and proceeded to rummage through it. Alice, Pascal and Stephanie laughed at the twin's actions.

"'Hyper little bunch aren't they?" Stephanie laughed out.

"Trust me you _no_ idea." Jarred said as he walked over to them.

The twins looked up from their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Aiden swallowed and threw a sandwich at Jarred. "It's your favorite!"

He caught the sandwich. "Thanks guys."

The twins grinned at him, peanut butter and jelly smeared all over their faces. "You're welcome!" they said as one and continued to eat their sandwiches.

Pascal walked over to Jarred. "Do they always do that? Talking at the same time I mean?"

"Yeah, they also finish one another's sentences." He shrugged. "I think it's just a twin thing." He sat on the blanket and started to eat his sandwich as he leaned against a tree.

The twin looked up at Jarred and pouted at him with their arms crossed.

"What's wrong-"

"-with finishing-"

"-each other's-"

"-sentences?"

"Okay, that's just weird." Stephanie chuckled out, amused at the boys.

"It's not weird, it's cool." Jarred laughed. The twins stuck out their tongues at them at the same time.

Jarred smiled at the twins. "They just don't get it do they?"

"Nope!" they said at the same time. "Only you and Alice do." They grinned cheekily then went back to their sandwiches.

Jarred looked at Alice and patted the space next to him. Alice grinned at him and sat down. She picked up the towel beside her and tried to dry her hair out as she looked at Jarred, her eyes shining. From the lake, they heard Pascal and Stephanie splashing each other.

Jarred smiled at her. "I wouldn't dry off quite yet."

Alice laughed and just hung the towel around her neck. "I guess you're right."

He brushed part of her bangs out of her eyes. "Yeah, something tells me we'll be here awhile."

Alice blushed a bit as she grinned. 'Yeah me too." She then turned to the lake as she rested her head on Jarred's shoulder. He put his arm around her, resting his head on hers.

They were silent for a while as they watched their friends swim in the lake. Beside them, Jarred saw the twins yawn and crawl to him and Alice. Aiden settled himself beside Jarred as Hunter lay down on Alice's lap. The twins yawned again and they promptly fell asleep.

Jarred smirked, looking down at the twins. He didn't know what happened to the twins before they came here, but they had always treated Alice and Jarred as if they were mother and father figures.

Jarred looked at Alice and saw her stroking Hunter's hair with a soft smile on her face. Jarred knew that she adored the twins.

"Jake still thinks they're our kids." he joked.

Alice chuckled quietly. "I see why he'd still think that."

"Yeah, so can I."

"They do look like you you know." Alice grinned up at him.

"Yeah, it's kind of strange huh?"

"Yeah I know. Some campers even tell me that the twins kind of look like me too."

"They look like both of us." He kissed her cheek.

Alice chuckled. "Yeah, I wonder why."

"So do I..."

"So..." Alice said, looking up at Jarred with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "How did the twins wake you up?"

His face flushed. "U-Um..."

Alice grinned wider. "Come on Jarred. Tell me!" she said playfully.

"T-They said you were in a bathing suit..."

Alice's eyes widened a bit before she blushed lightly as she fought a smile. "Really now?"

"Y-Yeah"

"Well I really am wearing one but I didn't think that that would wake you up." She said, winking at him.

"Well...uh…um." His voice trailed off.

Alice giggled then kissed his cheek. 'Well I'm flattered."

Jarred smiled at her nervously.

Alice giggled then rest her head back on his shoulder.

Jarred felt his face get hot. "You're the only one that can get me like that..."

He saw Alice smile softly. "That's good to know..." she murmured. She shifted closer to Jarred, careful not to jostle Hunter too much, and nuzzled her face at the crook of his neck.

He smiled and closed his eyes. _This is home..._


	13. Chapter 13: The secret

**A/N: Again, please review guys. I'd love to hear some feedback on this story. Is it good? bad? horrible? please tell me.**

**disclaimer: I do not own percy jackson and the olympians. I only own the OCs in this story.**

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**Chapter 13**

It was silent for a while as they stayed in that position. Jarred suddenly heard murmuring voices and the unmistakable _click_of a picture being taken by a camera.

Jarred opened his eyes and blinked a few times adjusting to the sunlight.

Standing in front of him was their friends. It seems that Arcus and Jake had arrived. Pascal had his arm around Stephanie's shoulder. Arcus was smiling at him with his arms crossed. Jake was smirking while holding up a camera.

"Aww it's a family moment." Jake said, his voice low. He was wearing his red and black swimming trunks.

"I'm going to punch you in the nose." Jarred mumbled quietly.

"Don't worry, we'll give you a copy." Arcus said, smiling softly. The nineteen year old son of Apollo was wearing his camp shirt and black shorts.

"Or how about this. I pummel you both into the ground." Jarred smirked.

Arcus smirked back. "I don't think Alice would appreciate you pummeling her favorite brother to the ground."

"I'd make it up to her somehow."

"Hmm...We'll see." Arcus smirked.

"Though in all seriousness Jarred, you four really do look like a family." Stephanie said.

"Yeah, we've noticed." He rolled his eyes as he sat up a bit stiffly. Alice and Aiden mumbled something before settling down again.

"Are you sure the twins aren't yours?" Jake asked as her smirked.

"Believe me; I'd know if they were mine." He felt embarrassed saying that to his brother.

"Sure sure." Jake replied as he waved his hand dismissively. Jarred rolled his eyes.

He heard mumbling from his left and looked down to see Alice slowly waking up. "What's going on?" she mumbled.

"Alice...You just slept in your bathing suit next to Jarred." Pascal said, smirking at her.

"Well...all four of you did actually." Stephanie added.

Jarred carefully pulled Aiden into his lap so he could sit up properly. "I don't even remember falling asleep..."

"You four were asleep for around an hour." Stephanie said as Jake took another picture.

"Stop it with the pictures Jake, seriously." He chuckled and turned to Stephanie. "Seriously? Doesn't feel like it."

"No. This is a perfect opportunity for family pictures." Jake told him. Jarred still couldn't believe that this guy is older than him.

Stephanie shook her head at Jake as Pascal chuckled. Turning to Jarred she said, "Yeah you were."

"The boys are still out cold, big surprise." He laughed.

Alice looked over at Aiden and smiled softly before looking up at Jarred. "We better get them changed."

"Yeah I know."

Alice reached out and grabbed Jarred's shirt before putting it on. She then carefully moved Hunter and picked him up. The small boy mumbled a bit before latching onto Alice, still asleep.

Jarred picked up Aiden in his arms and stood up.

"We'll see you later guys." Jarred looked at the other four before heading back to the cabins.

"No Daddy...I still want to swim..." Aiden murmured, just as Jarred took a step.

He blinked surprised, but gave a soft smile. "We can swim later today." He said quietly and continued to walk.

"We want to swim Daddy..." Aiden murmured before pulling back and looking at Jarred, his eyes sleepy.

"Mommy…We still want to swim..." Hunter said, rubbing his eyes. Alice looked at Hunter in surprise before smiling softly.

"Did…did they just call you two mommy and daddy?" Pascal said, his eyes wide.

Jarred sighed and turned on his heel. This hadn't been the first time the twins had called them that, but usually they were alone, and their friends weren't around. "Yeah they did."

"That's so sweet." Stephanie cooed, looking softly at the twins.

"How long have they been calling you that?" Arcus asked.

"About a week..." Jarred said shifting Aiden in his arms.

"Really?" Pascal said. "That long?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing just curious. You guys are okay with them calling you that?"

"I'm okay with it." Jarred shrugged. "Alice?"

"I don't mind." She said as she shifted Hunter in her arms.

"Can we swim Dad?" the twins asked again, looking at Jarred.

"Not right now boys." He said calmly.

They both pouted at him. "Then can we stay with you and mommy?"

"Of course you can stay." He smiled as he started walking back to the cabins.

"Then why are we going back to the cabin?"

"To get you two changed." Alice replied.

"You two can't run around in your swim suits all day." Jarred added.

Turning to their friends, Alice said. "We'll come back in a little while."

"Come on Alice!" Jarred called to her, already half-way back.

"Ah! Coming!" She said, hurrying to Jarred while still carrying Hunter.

He laughed as he waiting for her to catch up.

The two carried the twins all the way towards the Ares Cabin. When they arrived, they quickly changed the twin's clothes.

"I'm not going to swim anymore." Alice told Jarred as she slipped Hunter into a new shirt and helped him put on his head cloths, purple over red.

Jarred did the same, helping Aiden tie his tennis shoes. "Yeah I think I'm done too, but I'll take the boys down later on to keep an eye on them."

"There." Alice said, standing up and looking Hunter up and down. She nodded to herself. "I'm still going back to the lake to watch over the others. I have to talk to Jake for a bit anyway." she told Jarred.

"Why?" He asked curiously as he put Aiden's head set on and sat him down.

Alice winked at him. "It's a secret."

"Come on Alice tell me."

"It's a secret!" Alice giggled. "You'll know what it is in two weeks."

"Um, okay?" Jarred stared at her confused.

Alice giggled. "I'm just going back to my cabin to get changed. I'll meet you guys back here. Behave yourselves boys." she said before walking towards the door. She was just about to leave when she turned back. "Oh, by the way. you're not getting this shirt back Jarred." she said, winking before going out the door.

"Oh really now?"

"Yep!" he heard her shout.

He snickered and got up following her out the door. "You sure about that?" He said catching up to her.

"Yep!" she repeated as the twins caught up to them.

Jarred put his arms around her waist lifting her up off the ground. "I'm so throwing you in the lake." He got her into his arms and started walking to the lake.

"What?! No!" Alice laughed out. The twins were snickering as they followed the two.

"Too bad." He snickered as he walked onto the dock.

"Jarred! Let go!" Alice laughed. Their friends were looking at them in amusement along with the other campers who were at the lake.

"As you wish!" Jarred threw her into the lake.

"JARRED!" she screamed before she landed in the water. Their friends and the other campers roared with laughter.

Jarred sat at the edge of the dock laughing. "You walked right into that one!" He laughed.

Alice resurfaced and shook her head. "You're in big trouble mister!" she threatened, grinning at him. She took off his now wet shirt and threw it at his face, which caught him off guard.

He froze as the ice cold shirt hit his face. Jarred took it and set it aside "Oh I'm so scared." He taunted.

Alice grinned. "You'll see." She said before walking out of the lake over to Jake. She pulled him aside the others and began talking to him, her expression turning from mischievous to soft.

Jarred watched her confused. _What in the name of the gods is she doing?_

Jarred watched them talk back and forth, sometimes glancing towards him. He saw Alice whisper something to Jake's ear and saw Jake blush. He saw Jake nod as he scratched the back of his head and he saw Alice's smile get wider. He saw him handing an object at her and then her going back to the cabin.

Jarred saw it all.

He walked over to Jake who still looked flustered. "Something you want to tell me?" He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Jake jumped then turned to look at Jarred. 'W-what are you talking about?"

"I saw Alice talking to you." He raised an eyebrow. "What did she tell you?"

Jake shook his head. "I can't say. I'm sorry bro."

Jarred sighed displeased with his lack of knowledge. _I'm going to find out what's up if it's the last thing I do..._


	14. Chapter 14: Twin's One Chance

**And here's chapter 14~**

**weeee~~~~**

**:D**

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**Chapter 14**

Jarred sat at the steps of the Ares cabin. It was free period and his depression always seemed to get worse around this time. Alice had begun to avoid him and spent more time with Jake. Jarred was getting short with his brother and her more and more.

"Hey Warhead. What's the matter?"

He looked up to see who was talking to him.

Standing in front of him was Natalie Jacobs, a daughter of Demeter. For the past two weeks they had become good friends and she had started calling him Warhead. She wore the camp shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jean shorts.

"Oh hey Nate." He gave a small smile.

Nate sat beside him. "Come on. What's on your mind?"

Jarred sighed. "I think Alice is going to dump me for Jake. They keep avoiding me and they're usually always seen together."

Nate kept quiet. "The others tell me that they've seen her around the Hephaestus Cabin too. And when I saw her these past few days, she looked very tired and twitchy."

"Really?" He stared at her confused.

"Yeah."

Jarred sighed. "I'm so confused. I don't get why they won't tell me what's going on! I deserve to know don't I?" He looked at the girl next to him. Her light eyes stood out against her dark skin and hair.

Nate smiled kindly at him. "Yes i know you do." she said. "Calm down Warhead. Throwing a tantrum isn't going to help things."

"I'm not throwing a tantrum." He spat at her. Natalie had learned to live with the boy's short temper, though she didn't approve of him snapping at her.

Nate just raised her eyebrow as she stared at the boy.

Jarred sighed looking away. "I'm just irritated."

"I know." she replied. They were quiet for a while before she spoke again. "Hey, i heard that the Aphrodite is hosting a party in tomorrow night. They got special permission from Chiron and everything. Let's go what do you say?"

He thought for a small moment. "Yeah, why not."

Nate smiled at him. "Great. What do you want to do now?"

He shrugged and stood up. "No clue."

Nate stood up with him and stretched. "Well how's about we-" Nate stopped mid-sentence as she stared at something in front of her.

"What?" He followed her gaze and what he saw made him freeze.

Walking in front of the cabin was Alice. What Nate told him was right. Alice looked exhausted and her hand was twitching every few seconds. She really didn't notice them as she headed towards the Hephaestus cabin.

He trotted over to her. "Alice are you okay?"

Alice jumped and turned to face him. "Uh…yeah. I'm fine. Just tired." she said as she shot a glance towards the Hephaestus cabin. She seemed nervous around him.

He felt sadness wash over him. "You should get some rest. Every time I see you, you look beaten and tired."

"I'm fine." She gave Jarred a small smile. "But I'll get some rest tonight I promise. I gotta go." she said before jogging over to the Hephaestus cabin.

He was about to say something but she was already gone. That's what usually happened, they spent about five minutes together, and it was spent on conversations like that.

Nate walked up behind him and patted his shoulder. "It's alright Jarred."

Jarred let out a heavy sigh. "No, it's really not."

Nate sighed. "Let's go to the arena. Vent your emotions out on the straw dummies."

He shook his head. "No thanks, not right now." With that he walked towards the woods, leaving Nate to watch him walk away, shocked that he didn't want to fight.

"Jarred?" twin voices sounded.

He stopped and turned to the two little boys. His eyes grew soft. "Yeah?"

"Want to go to the lake with us?" the twins said, their eyes showing worry for the older boy.

Jarred hesitated before answering. "Sure."

The twins perked up before pulling Jarred towards the lake. Campers dotted the shore here and there and Jarred could see some Aphrodite kids on blankets.

He felt his face get slightly warm but pushed it away as he followed the twins.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" the twins whispered.

"I'm fine." He gave them a reassuring smile.

The twins exchanged glances as they led Jarred to a blanket in one of the shaded part of the Lake. Jarred realized with a jolt that this was the place where he and Alice fell asleep together with the twins.

Pain came to his eyes. He kept thinking how much she avoided him and spent time with his older brother. _'Does she really want to leave me for Jake? Why can't she just tell me instead of letting me suffer?'_

"Daddy? Are you okay?" The twins asked again, seeing the emotion in Jarred's eyes.

"Guys trust me I'm fine, don't worry about me." He ruffled their hair. "Go on and swim okay?"

The twins nodded reluctantly as they took off their shirts and headgear. After one last glance at Jarred, they jumped in the lake.

Jarred sat criss-cross on the blanket watching them. His mind kept falling to Alice. It was a mix of happiness and pain to think about her at the moment.

"I knew I'd find you here."

"I came here to watch the twins." He said flatly, not looking up at Arcus.

The older boy sighed as he sat down beside Jarred. The two were silent for a while as they watched the twins splashing in the water. "She loves you you know." Arcus suddenly said.

He didn't meet Arcus' eyes as he looked down. His raven colored hair falling in his eyes. "Then why is she acting as if I don't exist? She never talks to me, I have to talk to her and they're just a simple conversation, as soon as it's done she's off again somewhere."

"I know Alice. If she's doing that then there's a good reason." Arcus said. "Alice is known for her loyalty despite being a daughter of Apollo. She's the most loyal Apollo kid anyone's ever met."

Jarred sighed. "I wish I _knew_ that reason!" He could feel his patience growing shorter.

"Calm down Jarred." The older boy said. "Knowing she, she'll tell you soon. If only you could see her at the cabin. She's all twitchy and she keeps looking towards your cabin."

He looked up out towards the lake but said nothing, processing everything Arcus had said.

"I better go. The Apollo cabin is the one who's going to play at the party tomorrow night. You are coming aren't you?" Arcus said as he stood up.

"Yeah, Natalie invited me."

"Natalie? Oh that Demeter kid."

"What's that suppose to mean?" He snapped but then calmed himself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

"It's alright and I meant nothing. Natalie's brother is a great friend of mine." Arcus said calmly. "I better go." he then turned around and walked away.

Jarred groaned and laid down on his back. This is so confusing... For once, he wished for his conscience to come bug him, telling him it wasn't as confusing as he thought.

"Jarred." two identical voices whispered.

He sat up. "What is it?" He looked at the two twins.

The twins put their fingers to their mouths indicating him to be quiet. They were still a bit wet so water dripped down their hair.

Jarred furrowed his eye brows together, showing his confusion.

The twins then pointed to something a few feet away from them. A small figure was sleeping soundly in a sun patch to Jarred's far right. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that it was Alice.

He gave them a smile. "Thanks guys." He ruffled their hair. "Go on and play some more 'kay?"

When the twins had gone he went over to Alice and sat down next to her.

Alice was sound asleep as she curled up on the blanket. Jarred could see traces of exhaustion on her face and her hands were wrapped in bandages. There was a strip of white band-aid across her cheek indicating that there was a cut underneath it.

He gently touched her cheek, hoping he wouldn't wake her up. Alice murmured in her sleep but otherwise, didn't awake.

Jarred smiled to himself softly, but soon sadness swept over him again as he carefully pulled her into his lap. As if sensing him, Alice automatically curled up against him murmuring quietly.

He took one of her bandaged hands carefully. _'Alice, what have you been doing?'_

"Jarred..." Alice murmured in her sleep. She curled up tighter against Jarred, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. _'Now's not the time to ask her.'_

They stayed in that position for a while before Alice shifted, signalling that she was waking up.

"Jarred!" The twins whispered as they waved him over.

He sighed not wanting to go over to the twins. He gave them a look that said _'can it wait?'._

The twins frantically shook their heads then gave a glance at Alice. They gave him a look that said _'It's not time yet.'_

Jarred set Alice back onto her blanket gently and went over to the twins, anger clearly showing in his eyes. Seeing the expression in his eyes, the twins squeaked in fear.

He glared at them as he passed by, then his head snapped forward as headed into the woods. _I could've actually spent time with her this time, but I guess that's not going to happen._


	15. Chapter 15: Party and A Talk

**AN: Here's chapter 15 guys~ **

**Enjoy, Rate and Review **

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**Chapter 15**

"Warhead we've got to go. The party's about to start." Nate said, leaning against the Ares' cabin doorway.

There was grumbling from inside. He had refused to come out of the cabin for the rest of yesterday and today, not wanting to snap at anyone. Finally he came out and blinked a few times adjusting to the light.

"Alice didn't go out of cabin the whole day today and yesterday. Arcus said that she spent it sleeping." Nate told him.

Jarred nodded. "I saw bandages on her hands the other day. I wonder what she's been doing."

Nate shrugged. "Maybe from working in the forges? She goes to the Hephaestus cabin frequently this past two weeks."

"I honestly don't think an Apollo kid would want to spent time in the forges." He shook his head. "I really don't want to talk about it right now Natalie. Can we change the subject?"

Nate nodded. "Come on. Let's go to the party coz I can already hear music playing." She said as they went to the amphitheater.

He followed, walking beside her. "Why are they throwing a party anyway?"

She shrugged. "Some sort of celebration from what I heard."

"I wonder what it is." Jarred could hear people along with the music as they got closer to the amphitheater.

Nate shrugged again. Soon they arrived at the amphitheater and they saw that the party was in full swing. Everywhere they looked campers were dancing, talking or eating. Up on a stage, a few of the Apollo cabin were playing music with their other siblings switching with them every few songs.

He gave Nate a smirk. "How often does this happen at this camp?"

She smirked back. "Not very often. But when it does its one heck of a party."

For the first time in weeks he laughed. "I bet."

Nate's smile widened. "Come on Warhead. Time to party!" she said before dragging him towards the heart of the party.

Jarred followed her, though he seemed to be looking up at the Apollo kids most of the time.

"Here." Nate said, handing a drink to Jarred, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Come on. Just enjoy the party."

He took the drink and took a small sip. "I know, I know." He smiled a bit. "I just wish Alice was able to be here with me."

Nate gave him a small smile. "She's around here somewhere."

"Um...excuse me?"

Jarred turned to look who was talking. "Hm?"

Standing in front of him was one of the Aphrodite girls. "Hi um...do you want to dance?" she said.

Jarred hesitated slightly but eventually set his drink on the table and smiled. "Sure."

The Aphrodite girl smiled. She took Jarred's hand and led him towards the dance floor. Jarred looked up at the stage and saw that Alice on it switching with one of her siblings.

He looked up at Alice sadly, but quickly looked away and smiled at the girl. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah." she said just as a slow song came up. Jarred looked back at the stage and locked eyes with Alice for a second before looking away.

Jarred turned back to Sarah. "I'm Jarred." He smiled as they danced with one another.

Jarred twirled Sarah and soon the song ended. The campers applauded for the Apollo cabin who bowed briefly before starting another song.

"Thanks for the dance." Sarah said before waving goodbye to Jarred, leaving him on the dance floor.

He gave a small wave and headed back over to Nate as scanned the Apollo cabin for Alice. "Think she'll come down?"

"I don't know really but I expect that something's going to happen." Nate said, throwing Jarred a mischievous smile.

"My lack of information of what's going on is beginning to get on my nerves." He rolled his eyes.

Nate just smiled wider. "Just you wait. So until then, go on and enjoy the party."

"Fine, but you're coming with me." He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. "Come on, I haven't seen you do anything but train! Loosen up."

"Oh fine fine." Nate smiled as a fast party song started.

Jarred let out a small laugh as he took her hands to dance.

The two kept dancing as the song continued to play. Suddenly a spotlight shone on Jarred as Nate laughed and stepped back. Jarred looked around and saw that the other campers were smiling at him as they stepped back to make room.

He suddenly felt uncomfortable, and confused. "Nate, what in the name of the gods is going on?" He whispered so only she could hear.

Nate just smiled wide at him. The song suddenly morphed to another song. Jarred's eyes widened when he recognized it. It was the Disney version of a Happy Birthday song he used to hear when he was a kid.

_I'm so stupid, how did I forget my own birthday?!_ He laughed scratching the back of his head.

The campers laughed as they sang along, clapping their hands to beat. Jarred shot a look at the stage and saw that Alice was smiling at him. A real smile as she sang along.

He beckoned her over to him, after the party they would need to talk, but now was a time to enjoy his birthday party.

Alice laughed and gestured to something beside him as she slowly walked over to him as if waiting for others. He looked over to where she had gestured.

Standing beside him were the people who avoided him for the two weeks. Pascal and Stephanie held a large banner with the words _'Happy Birthday Jarred!'_ written on it then signed with his friends' signatures. Jake was holding up a large box with a bow on it. Finally, the twins were in front holding a large cake between them.

"Thanks guys." That's all he could think of to say. _When was my last birthday party? I was 12, yeah, my mom took me to the zoo and bought a small cake. _He smiled at his friends and brothers. "I don't know what to say..."

"You're welcome." They said as the twins came over with the cake. They smiled brightly at him, their eyes showing forgiveness for the time when he snapped at them. Around them, the campers kept singing.

"Man it was hard trying to keep this party's real reason from you." Jake said, ruffling Jarred's hair.

"Sorta guessed." He glanced over at Alice as she made her way over.

Alice smiled then kissed Jarred's cheek. "Sorry for ignoring you. But I..." she said before pulling out a small box from her jacket pocket. Jarred noticed that her hands were completely healed. "I needed to work on your present."

He took the box carefully and opened it. Nestled in the velvet was a silver pocket watch with the image of a spear that looks like his and a violin engraved on the cover.

He took it out with a smile and pulled Alice into a hug. "I love it." He whispered to her as he slipped the pocket watch into his pants pocket.

Alice laughed as she hugged him back. "You still haven't opened it yet." she said. He took it back out giving her a curious look as he opened it up.

The edges around the clock face had Greek symbols engraved on it. On the other side was a photo holder. The picture there was the one Jake took at the lake when Alice, Jarred and the twins were fast asleep. Alice flipped a secret switch and the picture holder flipped. On the other side was a picture of Jarred with his arms around Alice as they smiled at the camera.

"That's why I needed Jake..." Alice murmured.

Jarred nodded understanding and flicked the switch again before carefully closing it. "Now I get it, but if you had just told me it was a surprise, it would've been easier for you two." He smirked, ruffling Alice's hair.

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise!" Alice laughed. The Apollo cabin began playing again so Pascal, Alice and the others led Jarred to the table where the twins placed the cake.

"Happy Birthday Jarred!" they shouted.

He pulled Hunter into his lap as he smiled at his friends. He was happy to have them on his birthday.

It was ten pm when the party ended. The twins were fast asleep in Jarred and Alice's arms as they went to the Ares cabin. Every now and then a camper would greet Jarred a happy birthday.

Jarred got the twins ready and into bed before he walked back out where Alice was waiting.

Alice smiled softly at him as she sat on the steps. "Happy birthday Jarred." she murmured.

He sat next to her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She said as she kissed his cheek.

He didn't look at her, his expression became serious. "Alice, I really did wish you had told me it was something for me, or whatever. I was starting to think that..." His voice trailed off as his gaze fell to his feet.

"To think that?" Alice asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"You were spending so much time with Jake that I thought you were going to leave me for him." His voice was quiet; as if he was afraid someone would over hear their conversation.

Alice was silent for a long time so Jarred looked up at her. She was smiling softly at him, her eyes full of love and adoration as she pulled him into a hug.

"I'd never do that..." she murmured.

Jarred hugged her back, holding her close. "I know, but you guys avoided me so much that I didn't know what else to think..." He closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

He shook his head. "No don't be. You guys had your reasons." He pulled away from her, his hands still on her shoulders. "I'm glad that you did hide it from me though." Jarred gave a smile, his eyes shining brightly.

Alice smiled back before leaning forward to kiss Jarred on the lips.

He placed a hand on her cheek as their lips met. He felt her smile into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him.

Jarred pulled her in close. "I love you." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you too." She whispered back.

He smiled brightly at her. "Let's go for a walk." He stood up, gently taking her hand.


	16. Chapter 16: Meeting The Hero's Mother

**AN:**

**Shout out to raisa864! Thanks for the review~!**

**Here's chapter 15 guys~**

**Enjoy, Rate and Review**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

"What about the harpies?" she said.

"Harpies are fat and slow." He smirked. "And, if they become a problem, I have Efialtis with me."

Alice still looked a bit uneasy but nodded all the same.

He led her through the woods and to the ocean shore. Alice looked up at Jarred in confusion.

He walked to the water's edge, watching a passing ship. "It's odd, isn't it, how oblivious the world is to things like this."

"Yeah..." She murmured as she sat on the sand beside him.

Jarred closed his eyes feeling a breeze roll across the waves. Poseidon got a wonderful thing. _The god of the sea, it must be nice to control something so wonderful,_ He opened his eyes slightly. _Yet it's so deadly as well..._

"What are you thinking?" Alice's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

"The ocean." He smiled. "Poseidon did get a wonderful thing didn't he?"

"Yeah..." she said as she stared at the water.

"Hey Alice, have you ever met your dad?"

Alice was silent as she looked out at the water. "Not really..." she murmured. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around then, resting her head on her knees.

He sat down beside her. "Hm...I guess none of us really have huh?"

"Yeah..."

Jarred laid down, putting his hands behind his head. "I wonder what Ares is like." He laughed.

"Um...War-like?" Alice joked.

"Well duh, war-like." He laughed.

Alice laughed with him and lay back on the sand, one arm behind her head and the other on her stomach. "I wonder what my dad's like."

He shrugged. "Sunny?"

Alice laughed. "Possibly."

He turned to her. "You got a drachma I can borrow?"

"Huh? Oh yeah hold on." she said, reaching into one of her pockets. After a few seconds she pulled out a drachma and handed it to Jarred. "What do you need it for?"

He took it and stood up. "IMing." He got down on one knee. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, except my offering." then tossed the drachma into the sea. The spray of the waves was able to make enough mist for an IM. Alice sat up and watched him, shaking the sand out of her hair.

"Elizebeth Mayers." He said and sat up, his mother came into view. She was sitting on the couch watching the news. "Mom." He said.

Elizabeth Mayers jumped in her seat and turned to the voice. Seeing her son, she smiled and walked over. "Hi there baby. I'm taking you received my present for you?"

"No not yet. I actually called for you to meet someone." He beckoned Alice over.

Alice stood up and walked over. "H-hi there ma'am." she said, smiling nervously.

"Mom this is Alice Levin, daughter of Apollo." He put his arm around Alice's shoulder, giving her a teasing look.

Elizabeth smiled at the two. "I'm guessing this is the girl you always told me about?" she said before turning to Alice. "He couldn't stop talking about you dear." she teased.

Jarred blushed. "Mom please..."

"It was always 'Alice this' and then 'Mom guess what? Alice and I' that." Elizabeth continued as Alice stifled a laugh.

"Moooooom." He groaned with a small laugh. "So how are things back at the apartment?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Aren't you adorable when you're flustered." She said. "Things are fine. I can see the floor now!" she joked.

"Thank the gods." He smiled.

Elizabeth smiled. "How are things at camp? You didn't blow up anything again did you?"

"Nah, not yet anyway." Jarred smirked. "Wait...I blew stuff up before?"

"Yes you did." Elizabeth laughed.

"How?!"

"Well...technically it's not your fault since you were only six but that was the last time I left you alone with your uncle." Elizabeth shook her head. "Where that man got the idea to give explosives to a six year old is besides me." At that, Alice burst out laughing.

"MY UNCLE GAVE ME EXPLOSIVES?!" He gasped. "What is wrong with that man?!"

"I have no idea. Must've been when my mother dropped him." she said. "The amazing part was when you actually managed to blow up your room without you getting even a scratch."

"Good thing about being the son of Ares." He smirked.

"Yes that. Thank the gods for that." Elizabeth shook her head again as Alice chuckled.

"Yeah, but still, that's pretty cool."

"Gave me a heart attack that one." she said before turning to Alice. "Make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble will you sweetie?"

Alice's eyes widened before she nodded, smiling brightly. "Yes ma'am."

"Mom, I'm _always_ getting into trouble." Jarred laughed.

"Not when she's around." Elizabeth nodded to Alice. "You're like a little lovesick puppy whenever you talk about her. And sweetie just call me Elizabeth." she said the last part to Alice who nodded.

He felt his face get hot he wanted to argue but bit his tongue remaining silent.

Elizabeth laughed. "You're so adorable son. Isn't he adorable?" she asked Alice who nodded. "Anyway, I have to go now. Give Chiron my regards alright dear?"

"I will, and I'll keep a look out for your present."

"Alright son. Oh by the way, what did you get for your birthday?"

"Jake got me a new set of armor and Alice got me this." He showed her the pocket watch.

Elizabeth examined the pocket watch. "It's beautiful son. Where did you get it sweetie?" she asked Alice who blushed.

"I um...I..." Alice stuttered.

"She made it." Jarred smiled.

Elizabeth's eyes widened as Alice blushed. "It's beautiful my dear. Amazing craftsmanship." she said. "Does it hold any pictures?"

He opened it up showing Elizabeth the two pictures.

"The twins are adorable!" Elizabeth cooed. She then looked at Jarred with a familiar glint in her eyes. "I better get grandchildren like them. How about you two adopt the twins?" she teased.

Jarred blushed a bright red. "W-Well um..."

Elizabeth laughed. "Why not? They look so much like you son. I'm sure your father won't mind."

Alice was looking at her feet, blushing bright red.

"They're my brothers mom. It'd be...weird." He didn't tell her about how they already called the two mommy and daddy.

"Nonsense! I heard that they already call you two mommy and daddy." Elizabeth said.

"Who told you that?!"

"You did. Just now." She replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"That is so not fair!"

Elizabeth just giggled. "I expect them to be adopted by you two, son." she said.

"Not happening." He shook his head. "I'm not adopting my brothers..."

"Oh? I don't hear Alice speaking up." Elizabeth replied, looking at Alice who was still blushing.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Mom, they're my brothers, we can't."

"Sure sure." Elizabeth said. "I'll see you two next time. Take care." she said before she ran her hand through the mist, closing the message.

"Sorry about that Alice." Jarred gave her hand a small squeeze.

"That was certainly...interesting." Alice said, still blushing.

"I expected a normal conversation not something like that..." His cheeks still had a faint hint of red to them.

Alice laughed a bit, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Let's go before we become food for the Harpies." Jarred laughed.

"Sure." she said as they walked back towards the cabins. As they walked, Jarred noticed that Alice was thoughtful about something.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Alice said, snapping to attention.

"I said, what are you thinking about?" He snickered.

"Oh uh..." Alice said, her cheeks reddening.

"Alice come on tell me." He took her hands in his own.

Alice hesitated for a second and saw that they were at the Apollo cabin. She looked at her cabin for a minute before suddenly kissing Jarred. "Just what your mother said." she whispered in her ear before pulling back and winking at him. She then hurriedly went into the cabin.

His cheeks flushed when she said that. Jarred headed back to his own cabin silently closing the door behind him. A couple of his siblings who were still awake looked at him curiously but said nothing.

"Jarred…" two sleepy voices called out.

He turned to the twins and knelt down by their beds. "Hey guys, go back to bed."

The two boys yawned before nodding. "Okay daddy..." They said very quietly before burrowing back under their blankets.

He sighed before getting into pajamas and getting into his bed.

There were shuffling noises just as Jarred was about to fall asleep. Then he felt two presences beside him.

"Jarred...Jarred..." two quiet voices whispered, shaking him lightly.

He mumbled something before sitting up. "What?"

The twins hesitated before looking at Jarred with pleading eyes. "We can't sleep...can we sleep next to you?"

"Yeah, sure." He shifted over.

The twins immediately climbed Jarred's bed bunk and settled themselves either side of him. "Thank you..." they yawned. "...daddy." they whispered before falling asleep.

Jarred yawned before falling asleep.


	17. Chapter 17: The Warning

**AN: This chapter's pretty short but essential. ahah Enjoy, rate and Review :D~**

**Oh and merry almost Christmas!**

**Chapter 17**

"Should we wake them?"

"Don't...they had a tiring day...let them sleep." A gruff voice answered.

"What about breakfast?"

"There's still two hours before that..."

"I'll watch over them if that's okay with you guys." a twinkling voice sounded.

There was murmuring before the gruff voice answered. "Alright Alice...Thank you." There was shuffling noises before it became quiet again.

Jarred murmured in his sleep, turning over on his side as Aiden curled up next to him.

A quiet chuckle echoed through the cabin along with a little click.

He opened his eyes slightly. "Hm?"

"Hey sleepy head." the voice sounded.

"Hey Alice..." He mumbled recognizing her voice.

Alice's soft smiling face came into focus as she sat down at the edge of his bed. "Hey..."

"What are you doing here?" He said quietly still half asleep.

"I volunteered to watch over you three while your other siblings went ahead for some early training." she explained, brushing some hair out of his face. "You can still sleep if you want." she murmured.

He nodded and buried his head back into the pillow and soon was fast asleep again.

_Jarred suddenly found himself in a small clearing in the forest of the camp. But the strange thing was that it was completely silent opposed to the small noises some creatures and trees would make._

_He looked around and started walking. Looking down he saw that he was carrying Efialtis as he walked. However after a few minutes he suddenly found himself unable to move his feet._

_"What's going on?" He looked around franticly. A feeling of fear coming over him._

_Suddenly he could hear someone running through the bushes towards his direction followed by a loud growling._

_He wanted to run but he was firmly planted in his spot._

_Suddenly a familiar person burst through the tree line into the clearing. Jarred's blood ran cold when he saw that it was Alice. Her face was all cut up and her eyes were wild with fear. Jarred noticed that she didn't have any of her weapons with her. She only took a few steps into the clearing before a hellhound suddenly burst in and pounced on Alice, snarling._

_"ALICE!" He wanted to shout but no sound followed._

_Jarred tried to move to her but he could only watch as the hellhound caught Alice in its mouth and throw Alice around like a ragdoll. Alice's piercing scream echoed through the forest but was roughly cut off when the hellhound threw her against the rock wall._

_He watched as Alice slide down the rock wall, tears streaming down her face. The hell hound caught her in its mouth again and threw Alice down on the forest floor and pinned her down using its large paw. Alice gasped for air as she tried reaching for a large branch that was just out of reach. _

_The hellhound snarled at her face before lunging towards her, its mouth wide._

"NO!" He screamed as he woke up. Fear still gripped him tightly.

"Jarred! Calm down. Shh...It's alright." A twinkling voice laced with worry sounded from beside him.

Jarred turned to see Alice, his large frightened eyes welled with tears and he sat up, wiping them away.

"Hey..." She murmured comfortingly as she pulled him into a hug. "It's alright...it's okay..."

He hugged her back, tears streaming down his face. _'It's just a dream, calm down, it's just a dream. But it felt so real, felt so real. Some dreams are like that, it's normal. But still...'_ Jarred closed his eyes tightly, blocking out the dream as best as he could.

"It's okay..." Alice kept murmuring, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

Jarred shook his head. "No." He said shakily. "No."

"Hey...Want to talk to Chiron about it? I know he could help." Alice murmured.

He nodded and got up. "I-I'll meet you outside...okay?"

Alice nodded. "I'll see you later alright? I'll just have a walk around."

A flash of wild fear came to his eyes again. He hesitated before answering. "Alright, but please don't go into the woods alone. I'll explain later alright?" He said franticly as he gathered up a pair of clothes.

Alice looked confused before nodding, seeing the fear in his eyes. "Alright." She said before walking out the door.

When Alice had gone he quickly got dressed and grabbed the staff resting against the wall. _'Have to protect her, this dream was too real, something is going to happen. And it's not going to be good.'_ Many thoughts ran through his mind as he bolted out the door to the Big House. His dream playing over and over in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more scared he got.

"Yo Jarred what's the hurry?" Pascal said as Jarred passed him.

"Can't talk I need to talk to Chiron." He said quickly before taking off again.

Jarred reached the Big House and pounded on the door, calling for Chiron. Soon, the door opened and the centaur looked out. Seeing Jarred's expression he quickly ushered the young demigod inside and sat him down on the old sofa.

"Jarred? What's wrong? What happened?" the centaur asked.

Jarred explained his dream as detailed as he could, trying to keep his voice study.

Chiron just watched him with calm eyes. When Jarred was finished, Chiron sighed. "One thing you should understand Jarred is that demigods do not have just normal dreams. Whatever you do dream is either happening right now or will happen in the future. A dream as vivid as yours will certainly happen any of those times." Chiron explained.

Jarred clenched his fists in his lap tightly. "How can we prevent it?" He said quietly.

Chiron shook his head. "We can only make sure that Alice is safe and well protected."

He nodded and stood up. "Should we let the others know?"

"Yes. That would be wise but I don't think that Alice should be told. Her innate fear of even the word 'hellhound' would reduce her to a nervous wreck although Pascal is already past that." Chiron said.

"Then who should we tell?"

"I suggest Pascal, Jake, Stephanie, Nate and Arcus. The twins are young but they are also vigilant so it will be okay to tell them. Just make sure they don't tell Alice."

"I'll get on that now..." He grabbed his staff and left.

"Good luck Jarred."


	18. Chapter 18: Keeping the Arrow Safe

**AN: Pretty short Chapter today~ **

**despite that, i hope you like it ^^**

**Read, Rate, review~**

**disclaimer: i won nothing but my characters**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Jarred was in the arena hacking and slashing at the dummies with his spear during a free period.

It has already been a month since he had that terrifying dream and told all his friends. They had agreed with the plan and agreed that at least one of them had to be with her at all times especially during Capture the Flag games every end of the week. He was sure Alice had noticed the change but said nothing and didn't complain to Jarred's immense relief.

He had just cut the head of a dummy off when a familiar voice came to his ears.

"Nice technique Warhead."

He turned, leaning on the spear. "Hey Nate, what's up?"

"I just dropped off Alice to her brother. Alice wanted to go to the lake and Arcus was the only one available at the time." She told him. "I just thought you ought to know."

"Yeah thanks Nate." He smiled. "I'll take her after Arcus."

"Alright." Nate said as she sat down to watch Jarred. "It's amazing that she hasn't complained even once or tried to ask questions. She just took it in stride and adjusted."

He didn't answer for a few minutes as he continued to train on the dummies. "I know that she's curious, but she knows that there's a reason." He was silent for a few moments. "So I don't think she'll ask questions unless she really feels the need to."

Nate nodded in understanding. The two were silent spare the tips Nate would say occasionally. "I have to go now. I still have Arts and Crafts with the Dionysus cabin." Nate said as she stood up.

"Alright. I'll see you later. I'm going to the lake." He said as he stuck his spear into the ground.

Nate nodded then walked out of the arena. "Take care Warhead."

"You too." He watched her leave before heading out to the lake.

Jarred quickly arrived at the lake to see Alice at the water's edge with Arcus sitting a few ways back.

He jogged over to Arcus. "Hey"

Arcus looked up from the book he was reading. Looking at the pages, Jarred saw that they were in ancient Greek. "Hey there Jarred. Taking over?"

He nodded, his eyes fitting the Greek into English as he read a few lines.

"Alright." Arcus replied as he stood up. "Alice! Jarred's-" Alice suddenly tackled Jarred to the ground. "-here." Arcus finished. He chuckled before leaving the two alone.

Jarred sat up. "A little warning next time?" He laughed.

"Nope!" Alice said as she grinned at him.

Jarred pulled her into a hug. "So what's up?"

"I missed you and I'm bored." she said as she hugged him back. "Can we go into the forest?"

He seemed uneasy about it. "Um, sure."

Alice's excited face fell when she saw his expression but it quickly turned into a grin. "We could go practice archery instead!" she said before standing up.

"No if you want to go to the forest, then we can go." He smiled pushing his fear away.

"No it's okay." Alice said cheerily. "I want to go practice archery." she said, pulling on Jarred's hoodie.

He followed her smiling at how enthusiastic she was. "But you're already an amazing archer."

"I still want to go." she pouted up at him.

"I wasn't saying that we weren't going to go!" He kissed her cheek.

Alice grinned up at him and turned forward. Jarred thought he saw a flicker of emotion in her eyes but shrugged it off. It was probably nothing.

He took her hand as they walked. Alice was the one thing that brightened up his day.

Alice grinned up at him as they reached the archery range. She took a bow and a quiver of arrows and started shooting at the target.

Jarred watched her silently. He had always been impressed with how experienced she was with a bow and arrow.

Alice turned to look at Jarred and gave him a wide smile. She unleashed the notched arrow and though she was looking at him, the arrow hit the target perfectly in the middle.

He stared in awe. "H-How did you do that?!"

"Do what?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Hit the target perfectly without even looking!"

Alice turned toward the target with wide eyes. "Aww, I let the arrow go."

Jarred fell over laughing. He had a totally different personality around Alice, and he enjoyed it. "I thought that was intentional."

Alice stuck her tongue out then laughed with Jarred. "Guess I'm full of surprises."

He smiled at her happily. "I guess so." He walked over to her, gently kissing her cheek.

Alice blushed but smiled happily up at him. "I love you Jarred!" she said

"I love you too Alice." He chuckled "You still want to go to the forest?"

Something flickered in Alice's eyes but she smiled. "Nope! I'm good! Can we sit at the beach?"

Okay, he knew something was up. He wouldn't tell her like he promised Chiron but he at least would explain why they were doing this. "Alice, listen I know that you can tell something's up." Jarred shook his head. "Don't say otherwise, because I can tell."

Alice stayed silent as she looked at her feet. "I'm in danger aren't I?" She muttered.

He tilted her chin up so she looked him in the eye. "Yes, that's why we're doing this. I-I can't tell you why we think you're in danger, Chiron made me promise not to tell."

Alice just smiled at him, her eyes full of understanding. "Okay."

Jarred gave a soft smile, glad she wouldn't argue. "As long as one of us is with you, you'll be safe." He pulled her into a hug. "I promised to keep you safe, and that's what I'm trying to do."


	19. Chapter 19: At Death's Claws

**Chapter 19**

"Campers! I will now announce the teams for tonight's Capture the Flag!"

Jarred looked up from his food towards Chiron. He still found it slightly odd that he was a centaur.

Chiron clopped his feet for attention. "The leaders will be Ares versus Athena. Ares has been allied with Hermes, Hephaestus, and Dionysus, Nike, Iris, Hecate and Hypnos. Athena has been allied with Apollo, Nemesis, Hebe, Tyche, and Demeter." Chiron announced. "Good luck to all. I will meet you at the forest creek in two hours."

Jarred sighed. He was hoping to be paired with Apollo, then again, since he had been there, Apollo and Ares had rarely been teamed up.

Jake threw him a sympathetic glance. "We should really be careful tonight. Only Arcus and Nate will be ones watching over her and I'm guessing that Nate will be in the attack lines."

"Yeah I know." He turned to his older brother. "I told her that she's in danger so I'm sure that she'll be on guard herself."

Jake nodded. "Well we better coordinate with the other cabins. Let's go." He said as he stood up.

"Right." Jarred nodded back and followed Jake.

Two hours later of talking, planning and breaking up fights, mostly between Jake and the Hephaestus counselor, their team is all suited up and facing the Athena cabin in the forest.

Jarred gripped his spear tightly, making the red sparks of electricity become more controlled as they jolted around the spear head. _Gods please let Alice be safe during this..._

Jarred looked around and saw some of the Demeter kids scattered along their ally cabins. The Apollo kids were nowhere to be seen.

He spotted Nate not far to his left. She gave a nod to him but other than that nothing.

Chiron trotted over. "Campers! Remember the rules! The creek will be the boundary line. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be easily seen and have no more than two guards. Prisoners can be disarmed but not bound or gagged. Killing or maiming is not allowed." Chiron shouted.

Jarred waited for Chiron to tell them to go. He glanced at Jake who was probably already planning on which campers to take out first.

"Steady." Chiron said. Every camper tightened their grip on their weapon as they waited for the signal. Chiron blew the conch horn and the campers yelled their battle cry before surging forward.

Jarred charged at a daughter of Athena. Catching her off guard by pin pointing her out, he jabbed the spear tip to her side. _Don't get over confident. Athena always has a plan._

The daughter of Athena rolled and kicked Jarred's feet out before standing up and running off into the bushes. He grunted as he got up. Most of the others were still fighting so he headed to go find the flag. _Where would they have put the flag this time..._

A couple of Nemesis kids suddenly jumped out of the bushed and attacked, their swords and daggers raised.

"Great..." He muttered silently backing up slightly. _Catch them off guard..._

The kid on his left slashed down while the other attacked on the other side.

Jarred skillfully jumped out of the way. "You guys really don't know what you're up against." He got a wicked look in his eyes, oh how he loved this attack. He gave a sly smile as he jabbed Efialtis into the ground, a red wave of electricity running through the ground looking for a victim.

The two kids screamed before collapsing on the ground, unconscious.

He smirked heading towards where they had come from. Those were probably the guards... He carefully looked around, knowing Athena, he was cautious.

"Nice one bro!" Jake said from his left. "Come on. I think I know where their flag is." He said as their other siblings and some of Hermes and Hephaestus burst through the trees. All of them in varying degrees of injuries.

Jarred nodded to Jake. "Thanks, but I only have enough energy for one more of that attack." He told him as they followed Jake's lead.

Jake nodded and their group surged forward towards what Jarred noticed was the direction to Zeus' Fist. Suddenly arrows zipped through the air and hit a few of their teammates in the head, knocking them unconscious.

Jarred dodged the arrows. "They're in the trees!" He shouted.

Jake grunted as an arrow hit his shoulder. "Go! Shields up if you have any!" he said as he surged forward, trying to dodge the arrows.

Jarred looked up at the trees as they kept going. He felt an arrow hit his back and almost crumpled to his knees.

"Jarred come on!" Jake shouted as he hauled the younger boy to his feet.

"I'm coming I'm coming!" He followed Jake with a grunt of pain.

As they surged forward, he heard a few grunts of pain in the trees and the arrow attack lessened.

_Please let Alice be okay..._ Jarred glanced back at the trees before running alongside Jake.

He suddenly heard one high pitched squeak of pain and a low growl before they burst through the tree line facing Zeus' Fist. In front of them, a line of kids held steady with two Apollo guards standing beside the flag.

"Shoot...This must have been the last line of attack Athena had." He grunted as he held his sword ready.

"Just let me get in close enough." The sparks around Efialtis had grown since the last attack. "I can take them out."

Jake nodded and passed the message just as the enemy team let out a battle cry and surged forward, the Apollo guards notching their arrows.

Jarred advanced carefully, letting his team take out the enemies. _Let's hope they'll know to jump..._

The two Apollo kids kept firing arrows at Jarred's teammates, either knocking them out or disabling them.

"GUYS FALL BACK!" Jarred shouted to his team, he was in close enough. The only problem was that he could possibly get knocked out before performing the attack.

Jake nodded and his team tensed, ready for the attack. Jarred turned around and felt an arrow missing him by only centimeters.

He stuck the spear into the ground, the wave of electricity catching up with any who were in its range. He saw most of his teammates jump up at the last second while the others and the enemy team screamed in pain as the electricity reached them. As he was attacking, Jarred heard a scream somewhere far from them but dismissed it as one of his siblings in the other part of the forest.

Eventually he yanked the spear out of the ground, avoiding the unconscious members of the enemy team he snatched up the flag. "I've got it!" He called to his team as he ran back. "Let's go!"

They yelled in temporary triumph when they suddenly heard the same from the other side. Jake looked at him wide eyed. "They've got our flag! Run Jarred!"

Jarred didn't have to be told twice. He bolted towards the creek. His pumped his legs faster as he tried to get their before the other team. Faster, have to go faster!

"Go Jarred! We've got your ARRRGH!" Jake shouted. Looking back, Jarred saw him hacking at the grass that suddenly grew from the ground and had wrapped around his legs. He saw that most of the others were immobilized too.

_What in the name of the gods is going on?!_ He had never seen something like that before, he only thought satyrs could do something like that! Adrenaline pumped through his veins making him run faster.

A few knots of grass suddenly grew in front of him and he tripped. "Jarred quick! It's the Demeter kids!" Jake shouted as he could feel grass starting to knot around his feet.

He growled. "NATE I'M SO KILLING YOU AFTER THIS!" He shouted as he got his footing. Watching the ground and in front of him was a difficult technique but it became easier as he ran faster. Soon the creek was in view. _Fifty feet. Fourty feet..._

A son of Athena burst through the trees at the same time Jarred did, holding the Ares flag. Both stood frozen as they stared at each other then bolted to reach the other side. He could hear the blood roaring in his ears as they both reached the creek.

_Come on, come on!_ Jarred didn't slow his pace until he reached the other side of the creek, and froze standing as still as a statue looking up at the flag.

He felt himself looking at the son of Athena. The other boy was also on his side of the creek. Both were looking up at their flags, silently waiting.

The rest of the campers burst through the trees and stared at the two flags. After a few agonizing seconds, the flag in Jarred's hand slowly changed to the Ares cabin symbol, a boar and a spear.

There was silence before Jarred's team cheered, raising their weapons in triumph.

A smile crept to Jarred's face. He looked at his team and held his spear up in the air triumphantly.

His team cheered louder. "That's my boy!" Jake cheered as he walked over to Jarred and slapping his back, his hair wild and had grass in it.

"We won! We won! We won!" Jarred heard twin voices. He looked down and saw the twins in full battle armor, grinning up at him through their helmets.

"Great job Jarred!" Pascal said, taking off Jarred's helmet and giving the older boy a noogie. The enemy team walked off out the forest quietly grumbling their protest.

"Hey, hey, knock it off guys." He got out of Pascal's grip laughing. Something was missing, or someone. The twins, Jake, Pascal. "Where's Alice?"

"She's probably with her siblings." Jake said. "We haven't seen her _or_ Arcus all game."

His expression grew worried. "You don't think that growling and screaming we heard was them. Do you?"

The rest paled. They were just out of the forest when they heard a familiar voice.

"Help! Someone help!"

Jarred turned to see Nate, trying to help Arcus stay up on his feet. "What in the name of the gods happened?!" He shouted as he ran towards them.

The two were covered in gashes while their armor was tattered and barely holding on. Arcus was worst off that Nate and was trying to remain conscious.

Nate was breathing heavily. "Pack of...hellhounds...I was with these two...Destroyed most but we lost Alice...I told her...to run to you guys..."

Jarred's eyes widened with fear. He turned to Pascal and Jake. "GET THEM TO THE INFIRMARY!" He shouted to them as he ran off the way Nate and Arcus had come. Suddenly a shrill scream cut through the night before cutting off abruptly.

_No, no this can't be happening. This shouldn't happen, this can't happen!_ He snapped himself out of his thoughts and kept running.

"ALICE!" He screamed, he realized how choked up he was. The fear of the dream starting to take over. All he could think of was her getting thrown against that rock and laying still. Deathly still.

He burst through a line of trees and what he saw froze him on the spot. A hellhound had pinned Alice down with her only holding it back with a strong branch in its jaw. The same branch Jarred saw her reaching for in his dream. They could see Alice's arms shaking from the effort of holding it off, blood slowly pooling around her trailing from the same rock wall in his dream. Suddenly, the hellhound growled louder then slammed its paw into Alice's armored chest, making a deep dent as blood spewed from her mouth. The hellhound swiped its other paw down the left side of her face. She managed to deflect most of the blow but a claw had made a deep scratch down her face. Alice screamed in pain once more, her arms almost giving way.

Jarred suddenly felt anger boiling up inside of him. He screamed as he charged at the hellhound, the sparks around the spear tip going around more franticly and getting a wider range, before going straight through the hellhound's side. Jarred breathed heavily as it gave a howl of pain before turning into golden dust.

Alice stayed at the ground, trying to breath in raspy gasps. The left side of her face was dripping a sickly green liquid along with blood from the deep scratch. She put a shaking hand on her chest, trying to tell Jarred something. Her ribs were broken.

He knelt down beside her and pulled off her armor. He grimaced at her wounds as he picked her up in his arms. "You're safe now Alice." He whispered as he hurried back to camp. _But you could've stayed safe if I had been there...if I had gone looking for you at the first scream._ Tears slowly came down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry..." Jarred whispered as he hurried her back to camp.


	20. Chapter 20: A Rock Apartment

**Chapter 20**

"Jarred…You should get some sleep."

"Hm?" He hadn't left the infirmary since Alice had gotten attacked. "Stephanie I'm fine, really." He wouldn't look up at her.

"How is she doing? Is there any progress?" Stephanie asked softly.

Jarred sighed shaking his head. "Not that I know of." He looked back down at the bed, his chest tightening painfully.

Alice lay on the bed, deathly pale, sweating and shivering. She breathes in gasps and twitches every few seconds. Her ribs were quickly taken care of by their best healers but what worried them is the green liquid they recovered from the scratch. They had taken a sample and had sent it to Olympus to be examined.

"I wish we knew what the green stuff was..." A little part of his mind kept saying the same thing over in his thoughts. _Poison! It's Poison!_

"I don't know..." Stephanie whispered as she looked at Alice's body. It had already been three days since Alice was attacked. She should have been getting better by now because of the near dangerous amounts of ambrosia and nectar she consumed but it seems that she was deteriorating more as the days passed by.

Jarred hadn't left the infirmary since. He often kept himself from sleeping in fear of something happening to her while he was sleeping. Jarred let out a weary sigh, putting his face in his hands. _You could've prevented this. How? You could've been there with her. She was on the opposite team! You could've asked Chiron to put her on your team, but you didn't. You could've prevented this._

Alice whimpered in her sleep. Stephanie sadly stared at the small girl before turning to Jarred. "You really should sleep Jarred. I'll tell you if there are any changes."

He tensed, looking at Alice with fear and sadness in his eyes. "Stephanie I really don't th-" He stopped himself, he was starting to get a headache. With a sigh Jarred stood up. "Alright..."

"Take one of the beds. I'm sure they won't mind." Stephanie said. "I'll wake you up as soon as they find something."

Jarred nodded before getting into one of the beds on the other side of the room. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep. Unfortunately his dreams were haunted by nightmares about the attack and the dream he got as a warning. _You could've prevented this..._ Those words stuck in his mind as he woke.

"Jarred. Shh...It's okay..." Stephanie whispered as she brushed a tuff of hair from his face. "Go back to sleep…Everything's okay…"

He could feel her words softly ushering him back to sleep. _It's okay...everything's...okay..._ Those were his last thoughts as he sunk back into sleep.

_Jarred found himself standing in a dark place with fog floating across the floor. _

_ Where am I? Jarred looked around the darkness, hoping to find a source of light._

_"Jarred...Save my daughter..."_

_"Who are you? What are you talking about?" His lips didn't move but he could hear his voice._

_ "Save her...She does not have much time..."_

_"Alice? Alice is your daughter?" He was drawn back in shock but grew serious again. "I'll save her, I promised to protect her and that's what I plan to do..." _

_"She is dying...She does not have much time..."_

_"I promise that I'll save her. I won't let you down." _

_"Two weeks hero...only two..."_

_"Two weeks." He repeated, though he worried that they could be too late._

_"She is dying...Save her..."_

"Jarred! Jarred wake up!"

Jarred sat up wide awake. "Huh? Wh-What? What happened?!" He looked around the room franticly.

Stephanie looked over at him worried. "It's Alice..."

His face grew pale and he got out of bed going over to her bed.

Alice was curled up on the bed whimpering in her sleep. Tears were running down her face as beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She had kicked off her blankets and was shivering as if she was freezing. She looked paler than she did the night before. Somehow, Jarred could feel that she was slowly and painfully slipping away.

Jarred went over and took one of the lighter blankets covering her with it. He knelt down by the head of the bed, gently stroking her cheek. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, tears coming to his eyes.

"Cold...so cold...alone...so...alone..." Alice whimpered.

"You're not alone." He whispered through clenched teeth. He wished he could hold back the tears, but they started coming down his face anyway.

Alice curled up tighter as if she couldn't her him. "Alone... all... alone... help... Jarred..." She continued to whimper, shivering violently.

He wanted to scream. Scream and cry and throw a tantrum, but most of all, he wanted to blame someone. He wanted this to be someone's fault, and make them fix this. _If only it was that simple..._ He felt a comforting hand being placed on his shoulder. Looking up he saw it was Chiron. He quickly looked away before he took his anger out upon the centaur.

"Jarred...It's alright..." Chiron said, squeezing Jarred's shoulder in a comforting manner. "The result of the green liquid is back. I have called in a meeting with the counselors and you have to be there."

"I don't want to go." He snapped.

"Jarred...This concerns you as much as it does them." Chiron said.

"Jarred..." twin voices suddenly spoke up.

Jarred clenched his fists. _Don't they get it?! Don't they get I want to be alone with her? What good would that do, you can't help her, what have you done to help her?_ He almost screamed. Instead he glanced at the twins. "What?" It came out bitter and cold. He didn't mean for it to come out that way but it did.

The twins flinched and looked at Jarred with tears in their eyes. "W-we'll watch over mommy...you have to go to the meeting..." They said. "It might help her."

He pulled the twins into a hug. "Alright." He whispered. It pained him to leave her, but the twins were right. This could save Alice.

He could feel the twin's tears as they hugged him back. "W-we'll take care of mommy..."

"I know you will." He told them. "I trust her with you." He pulled back and gave them a small smile.

The twins gave him a small smile back before they settled on either side of Alice who had quieted down.

"Come Jarred." Chiron said, putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder. Jarred stood up and followed Chiron.

When they arrived, Jarred saw that the other counselors were there. Jake, Arcus, Pascal, Stephanie and Nate were there but he couldn't remember who the others were. Arcus, Jake and Nate gave him a sad smile. Pascal on the other hand was staring at the table with dead eyes while Stephanie was resting her head on his shoulders.

Jarred sat beside Nate, he had the same look Pascal had. Pale, sad and almost lifeless.

Nate wrapped her arm around his shoulders, trying to provide comfort. Alice had grown to be somewhat of a little sister to her. He glanced at her, grateful for the comfort. Nate smiled sadly at him as Chiron asked for attention.

"The results for the green liquid we had found on Alice's scratch left by the hellhound." Chiron said.

"And?" Jarred said, as he was away from Alice he looked little less depressed.

Chiron took a deep breath before answering. "It's a kind of rare poison straight from Tartarus."

Jarred felt himself wince. "Great..." he muttered annoyed.

"So in order to get an antidote we have to go to where it came from. The Underworld." Jarred looked up at the centaur.

The centaur nodded. "It's the only way if we are to save her."

"How long do we have..."

"If Lord Apollo is correct...She only has two weeks."

"We'll be back before then." Jarred stood up.

"You need to get a quest from the Oracle." Chiron said, pointing to somewhere beside the forest. "Go along the forest to the Oracle's cave."

Jarred nodded, and began to walk the perimeter of the forest. He was a bit nervous of what the Oracle's prophecy would mean.

He sighed. The cool night air was comforting with everything that happened. The darkness of the night mad a wave of comfort run through as darkness always had. As if it carried away all his worries. Soon, he found himself standing in front of a cave that had string curtains hanging at its mouth. Light shone through the gaps showing that their Oracle was awake.

He was unsure of what to do, so he started to pull the curtains back. "Hello?"

"Oh hello! Hold on a minute but come in! Come in!" A cheerful voice shouted from somewhere inside the cave.

He pushed back the current and walked in cautiously. Jarred remained silent, unsure of what to think about the Oracle.

He looked around and raised an eyebrow. The cave looked like an apartment living room with another curtained area in one side. It was fully furnished and everything that Jarred thought he was somehow teleported back to the mortal world if you don't count the uneven stone walls.

_Looks like Oracles even prefer the simple life..._ He thought, patiently waiting for the Oracle to meet with him.

"Hello there." Jarred turned around as a girl of around fifteen with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes walked out of the curtained area. She wore the camp shirt and a pair of cotton pajamas. It looked like she was about to go to sleep. "Who are you?" She asked, smiling warmly.

"Jarred Mayers, son of Ares..." He said calmly.

"My name's Jenn Micheals. Oracle of Delphi, speaker of prophecies of Apollo and all that jazz." She chuckled, holding out her hand.

Jarred took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you..." He seemed in a slight rush to get over with the introduction.

Jenn laughed and shook her head. "You're full of secrets here son of Ha- I mean Ares. So I'm guessing you need a prophecy?" A mischievous twinkle lit up her eyes.

_She was going to call me a son of another god, I think..._ Jarred nodded. "Yes, I do. And I don't have a lot of time to spare..."

Jenn nodded and put her hands in the pockets of her pajamas. "Go ahead and ask me then. Fair warnings though, don't freak out and catch me if I fall afterwards alright? I don't want a bump on my head when I just got back."

"Alright then, Jenn, Oracle of Delphi. What do I have to do to save Alice?"

Nothing happened for a few minutes but then Jenn stiffened and a green glow appeared on her eyes. She opened her mouth but when she spoke it was like three others were speaking at the same time.

_Children brought together by the sun_

_A race against time must be won_

_To west star road they must take a trip_

_To save the one in death's grip_

_Seek the truth and get what is found _

_And bring home the ocean safe and sound_

_One's true loyalty must suffice_

_To save a life that comes with a heavy price_

Jarred felt a shiver run up his spine, the way she spoke...the way she said those words was...unnerving.

When she finished speaking and the glow from her eyes dimmed, Jenn clutched her head and stumbled back.

"I hate it when that happens." She said, her voice shaky but normal.

"Doesn't seem like something anyone could get used to..." He mumbled to himself, before looking Jenn straight in the eyes. "Thank you Jenn..."

Jenn nodded and rubbed her head. "You're welcome. Good luck with whatever I said." She smiled at Jarred.

He returned the smile slightly, before jogging out of the cave. He would have to tell Chiron what the Oracle had said.

Jarred jogged back towards the Big House, the Oracle's prophecy rang in his head. Yet those last two lines, those two messed wouldn't go away. _'One's true loyalty must suffice, to save a life that comes with a heavy price...'_ As he made his way up the porch steps, he began to realize how nervous he was.


	21. AN: Your thoughts

AN:

Hey guys.

sorry if it's not a new chapter or anything. I was just wondering if your guys actually like this story.

I'm not getting much reviews for this and I'm worried that you don't like this.

I'm not going to hound you guys for reviews but some would be very appreciated.

I'll update soon though. I just wanted your guys' thoughts on this.

Thanks

-Nazz, _LastProtocol01_


	22. Chapter 21: Gift from a Brother's Love

**AN: Here you go guys. :3**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone. I really appreciate them.**

**Now..on with the story~!**

**btw, there will be a few things in the future chapters that my friend and I made up so if there's anything you don't understand then I'll do my best to try and explain them further.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Jarred slumped into a chair at the ping-pong table. The counselors stared at him like they were looking to see if he was going to spout out nonsense.

Seeing that the boy was still sane, Chiron spoke up. "What did the Oracle say Jarred? Say it line by line so we may help deciphering it."

Jarred sat up a bit. "'Children brought together by the sun, is the first line." He said. They quieted down as they thought about what the line could mean.

"_'Children brought together by the sun..._'" Pascal murmured. "Maybe the sun meant Alice since she is the daughter of the sun god." He said uncertainly, looking around.

"Probably..." Jarred said, quietly thinking it over himself.

"Who do you think they could be?" The Athena counselor asked. "One is obviously Jarred since he's the one leading the quest."

Jarred and Pascal glanced at one another. "Pascal's one of them." Jarred looked back to the Athena counsellor. "That I know for sure."

Chiron nodded. "Then who will be the third?"

"Stephanie. She was the other person I met through Alice."

At this, Stephanie looked up and nodded at Jarred. "I'll do it." She said, keeping her voice steady.

He smiled at her slightly, grateful that she agreed. "Thanks."

"What's second line Jarred?" Arcus said his voice raspy as he stared at the table.

"_'A race against time must be won.'_" He said. "That means that we have to get back before the two weeks are up."

Arcus flinched but nodded. Jarred felt sympathy for him. Alice is his favorite sibling after all. "Next line Jarred." Jake said.

"_'To west star road they must take a trip.'_"

"West star road...Los Angelas or Las Vegas perhaps?" Chiron said. "The Underworld is near that location as far as I know."

Jarred nodded. "I think its Los Angelas." Stephanie said, her expression was a mask of worry and fear.

"What's wrong love...?" Jarred heard Pascal whisper to Stephanie.

Nate rubbed her dear friend's shoulders encouraging Jarred to continue with the next line.

Jarred winced before continuing. "_'To save the one is death's grip...'_" He murmured quietly.

"Alice..." Arcus whispered.

"_'Seek the truth and get what is found, and bring home the ocean safe and sound.'_" He continued, not wanting to think about Alice.

The other counselors stayed silent as they processed the line. "Seek the truth...that could mean anything actually." Jake said, scratching the back of his head.

"Get what is found would most likely mean the antidote." Nate said.

Jarred nodded. "We'll probably find out about, 'seek the truth' later on the quest."

Pascal nodded as he rubbed Stephanie's shoulders. "Bring home the ocean safe and sound...must be something of Poseidon's"

"What do you think it could be?" He asked.

"I honestly have no idea." Pascal said as the others shook their head.

"The next line was _'One's true loyalty must suffice.'_" jarred said looking to Chiron.

"That would mean you would have to make a choice." the centaur replied.

"'One's loyalty'..." Jarred murmured quietly. _One of us would have to betray the other I suppose..._

"What's the last line Jarred?" Jake said quietly.

"_'To save a life that comes with a heavy price.'_"

Everyone quieted down. "That means...If we do save Alice...it would come with a heavy price." Pascal weakly said.

The three to go on the quest gave each other a nervous glance, worry shone in their eyes. So many things could happen during this. _Alice could die...We could get trapped in the Underworld...We'll run into monsters which would slow us down._

"There's no time to lose." Chiron finally said. "Heroes you must go back to your cabins and prepare to leave early morning tomorrow."

All three of them nodded and headed out the door, talking quietly to each other of what they would need.

"Jarred..."

Jarred turned. "Yeah?" He looked up at Arcus.

The son of Apollo looked terrible. His normally well kept hair was a mess and his bright eyes were dull and had bags under them. His clothes were wrinkled and a bit dirty. He had worked non-stop to heal Alice and Jarred saw that what happening was taking a toll on the older boy.

"I just came from the infirmary...to give you something..." Arcus said his voice weary.

Jarred nodded. "What did you bring?" Curiosity sparked in his eyes.

Arcus pulled out a slightly thick silver chain necklace from his pocket. Hanging from it was a ruby red gem charm that was glowing slightly. He moved forward and put it in Jarred's hand. With a jolt, the younger boy realized that the charm was very warm in his hand.

Jarred felt a small shiver run up his spine. "What's this?" He asked, looking at the red gem carefully.

Arcus took in shaky breath. "That necklace...is a direct link to Alice's life. It'll let you know how she is. The colder the gem is the-" Arcus choked back a sob before continuing. "The closer she is to dying." His voice cracked at the last word. "And when the gem's glow fades..."

Jarred put a hand on the other boy's shoulders. "We'll be back in time Arcus." He gave Arcus' shoulder a small squeeze before letting go. "Oh, and Arcus. Try to rest for a little while, it'll do you good." Jarred gave a small smile before heading to his cabin to pack.

"I'll try...Keep the necklace on you..." Arcus' faint voice reached Jarred just as he closed the cabin door.

Jarred slipped the necklace over his head and looked down at the glowing red stone. _We'll get back in time..._ He thought as he put his few belongings into his backpack.

"You should get some sleep..." A twinkling voice sounded from the doorway just as Jarred finished packing.

He turned to see Stephanie. "I will." He stood up setting the backpack on his bed. "I want to visit the infirmary first."

The daughter of Aphrodite stared at him for a minute before nodding. "I'll see you tomorrow..." she said before heading towards her cabin.

Jarred watched her go before walking to the infirmary. _Why do I feel so calm with all of this? I want Alice to live and I want her to be alright yet I don't feel scared. Nothing, no worry or fear or anything, I just feel...calm._ He forced that thought away as he walked through the door.

He looked around and saw that Alice was the only one occupying a bed. Someone, most likely Arcus, had laid her on her back and placed a cool towel on her forehead to help with the fever she's enduring. She was as pale as the last time he saw her and was still shivering violently.

He slowly walked over to her and knelt down at the side of her bed. Taking her cold into his own he hung his head. _Gods please let me be able to save her in time..._ He hoped his prayer would be answered.

As if hearing his prayers, a wave of warmth went through him. _Good luck hero..._

Jarred opened his eyes, stunned by the sudden warm feeling. "Thank you." He whispered, and stood up. Looking down at the sick girl before him, he gently kissed her cheek before leaving.

He entered his cabin and went straight for his bed following Stephanie's advice. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.


	23. Chapter 22: Messenger's Pain

**Chapter 22**

He woke up to someone gently shaking him. Looking up Jarred saw it was his oldest brother, Jake.

"It's time to go..." He said with a small smile on his face. "The others are waiting by the tree."

With that Jarred stood up stiffly, and half asleep. Grabbing his bag, he felt a heavy presence on his neck. Jarred gently touched the silver chain and gem which still had a fairly bright glow.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Jake raise an eyebrow at the necklace but didn't say anything.

Jarred told his brother his goodbyes and jogged to Thalia's tree where the others were waiting.

Pascal was sitting in the grass his eyes dull as he twirled his hat in his hands, his messy curly blonde hair being whipped around in the wind. Stephanie stood beside him, rubbing his shoulders to try and give him comfort.

As he reached them, he slowed down at a walk. "You guys ready?" Jarred asked simply. His expression remained calm and content.

They nodded just as Chiron walked up to them. "Godspeed heroes. I pray for your success." he said.

The three thanked Chiron and headed down the hill. Argus had just pulled up in a black car.

The three piled into the backseat of the car with Stephanie in between the two boys. Argus grunted at them then pulled out onto the driveway.

Jarred looked out the window, keeping silent. He gently rubbed the smooth red gem with his finger. _Just hang on until I get back Alice..._

The gem gave out a flash of warmth in his hand as if it could hear him. As if Alice could hear him. Jarred smiled. He could almost hear her voice in his head. _I believe in you..._

Stephanie looked at him curiously. "Jarred, what's that?"

Jarred hesitated. "Just...something that Arcus gave me to keep tabs on Alice."

She nodded, understanding.

The gem suddenly became slightly colder in Jarred's hand , the glow slightly dimmer. Normally he wouldn't have noticed it but right now, he was holding the one thing that links him to Alice.

He looked down at the stone. That one small loss of warmth made the stone feel much colder than it really was.

Jarred? Are you okay?" Stephanie asked her eyebrows furrowing in worry. Pascal just stayed silent. He had been staring out the window ever since they got in the car.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine..." He whispered.

Stephanie sighed and rests her head against Jarred's shoulder. "It's going to be alright..." she whispered.

He felt a small blush form on his cheeks. "I know..." He whispered back.

At the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Pascal flinch but he waved it off. _It's probably nothing..._

Jarred felt the world go dark as he slipped into sleep. HIs dreams were taunted by nightmares, ones where they were too late to save Alice.

"Jarred...Jarred wake up. We're here."

Jarred slowly sat up. "We are?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "How long have I been asleep?"

"We're at the train station." Stephanie said, smiling softly at him as she brushed a few tufts of hair from his face. "You've been asleep for the ride here."

Jarred looked at her softly. "Oh." He looked past her. "Where'd Pascal go?"

"He went ahead to get the tickets." Stephanie said. "We'll be riding a train for the most part then either bus or taxi after that."

He nodded and opened the door. "Come on, let's go meet him there."

Jarred stepped out of the car just as Pascal returned. "I got the tickets. We better go inside." He said in a flat voice, his hat shadowing his eyes.

"Uh, sure." Jarred looked at Pascal confused. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He said before nodding to Argus. The son of Hermes grabbed his bags and went inside the station.

Jarred looked to Stephanie who just shrugged. The two grabbed their bags and followed Pascal.

They entered at train, following Pascal who Jarred noticed was walking a bit stiffly. Looking around, Jarred saw that it was an old train they had boarded. Entering an empty compartment, Pascal sat down on one of the two plush seats near the window.

Jarred sat down, keeping a good distance away from the window. "Hey Pascal, what's our stop on this train?"

"I don't remember the name..." Pascal muttered. Stephanie put her bags in the overhead racks before sitting down next to Jarred. He noticed that Pascal's eyes seemed to harden just a bit as the son of Hermes stared out the window. "All I remember is we get off after two stops."

"Pascal are you sure you're okay?" Jarred asked.

"I'm fine. We should rest. It's going to be a long train ride." Pascal replied before settling down, his hat tipped down to cover his eyes.

Jarred sighed before leaning back in his seat. He wasn't tired, so he remained silent while the others rested. _What can a demigod do on a train heading to a town we don't know the name of..._

He suddenly felt a pressure on his side. Jarred turned his head and saw Stephanie leaning against him, fast asleep. Pascal seemed to twitch a bit but then settled down again.

Jarred sighed quietly, closing his eyes to let his mind wander. Memories of his mother were the first to come to mind. Most were bad but some made him smile faintly.

He heard a shuffling in the corner of the compartment but didn't open his eyes. What did jolt him was the sound of a choked sob and the opening and closing of their compartment door.

Jarred opened his eyes to see Pascal was gone. He carefully stood up, careful not to disturb Stephanie, before walking out the door. "Pascal?"

The son of Hermes could not be seen. Looking left and right, Jarred saw only empty hallways and the occasional kid from other compartments. He stepped fully out into the hall and gave one more look before walking down to the right. _He's gotta be around he somewhere._

Jarred looked through unoccupied compartments, hoping that Pascal was there. No such luck.

Jarred let out a sigh. "He couldn't have gone far..."

Just then, the boy he was looking for stepped out from what Jarred could was a bathroom. Pascal's eyes were red and slightly puffy. His whole face and some of his hair was wet as he scratched his neck. He didn't seem to notice Jarred as the younger boy went down another hallway, his shoulders hunched.

"Pascal!" He called hurrying to catch up with the younger boy.

Either Pascal didn't hear Jarred or ignored him as the son of Hermes slipped into the next part of the train.

Jarred followed him and froze. _Curse the gods... _He thought bitterly, the whole car was crowded for the lunch rush! He tried looking for his friend by searching for that familiar hat but it seemed that Pascal had taken it off.

_Okay, when I find Pascal, I'm going to kill him..._ He looked around for his friend a while longer before giving up and heading back to their compartment.

When he entered the compartment, he found that Stephanie was awake. "Where were you?" She asked, worry in her voice.

"Looking for Pascal." He said simply. "I saw him before, he looked pretty upset." He hesitated slightly. "I lost him in the dining car."

Stephanie placed a hand on his arm. "He'll come around. Why don't you get some rest?"

He blocked the sun out of his eyes. "Okay, but wake me up if he comes back." He said before lying down on the other bench and falling asleep.

"Jarred...Jarred..."

Jarred mumbled something before sitting up stiffly. "Hmm?"

"Come on wake up Warhead." An amused voice sounded. "I've bought food."

Jarred stretched and blinked a few times to see who was talking. His first thought was Nate, but no, she was back at camp.

Pascal sat at the plush seat opposite him with a small table full of food. The son of Hermes was smirking at him but his eyes looked dead. "No I'm not Nate, Jarred. You must really be hungry."

"Yeah, I didn't have breakfast. I overslept." The son of Ares smirked.

Pascal smirked wider though his eyes remained the same. He pushed some of the plates forward. "Eat then." He said. "I got enough for you and Stephanie."

"Thanks." He took the plate and ate slowly Stephanie followed his lead and took the other plate. "Hey, how come you didn't stop when I called to your earlier?" He asked.

Pascal's eyes flickered but then he tilted his head in confusion. "You did? I didn't hear anyone call me out."

"Hmm, you probably didn't hear me then." Jarred said, continued to eat.

"I guess." Pascal replied as he leaned back on his chair, his hat tilting down slightly.

"Hey, have you ever noticed that kids at camp sometimes call Argus, Arcus and Arcus, Argus?" Jarred said.

Stephanie snickered. "Most likely it's because there's only a one letter difference with their names."

"I know but still, it's just weird. You'd think people wouldn't get that mixed up. You know with Argus having lots of...you know, eyes."

Stephanie just shrugged while Pascal chuckled as he stared out the window, his eyes dim.

Jarred got a sly smile and picked up a strawberry that had come with his pancakes. Glancing at Stephanie for her to be quiet, he threw it at Pascal, hitting him in the cheek.

Pascal slowly turned his head and stared at Jarred. For one shocking moment his eyes were filled with terrifying anger before it abruptly changed to teasing mischief. "You're going to pay for that."

"Is that a challenge I hear in your voice?" He snickered.

Pascal smirked before suddenly flinging the same strawberry at Jarred, hitting the son of Ares right in the middle of his forehead.

A small red stain remained from where the strawberry hit. Jarred clapped his hands briefly. "Well done well done." He picked up a stack of pancakes. "Try this on for size!" He threw pancakes at the other boy, getting Pascal covered in butter and syrup. Jarred got his hands in the same situation, sticky and slippery

Pascal chuckled as he stripped off his hat and put it on the overhead rack. Stephanie scooted far away from them as Pascal looked up at Jarred, a manic look in his eyes. The same flash of anger briefly showed before Pascal smirked, holding up a cup of syrup.

"Don't you da-" Jarred was cut off when Pascal poured the syrup over top of his head. He remained frozen as the sticky fluid ran over his hair, clothes and face.

Pascal smiled maniacally, the anger in his eyes more visible before he grabbed his hat and sprinted out the doorway.

"Is it me or did he look like he was going to get something to kill me?" Jarred asked Stephanie as he stood up, sticky and a mess.

Stephanie's eyebrows were furrowed as she stared at the doorway. 'I...I'm not sure..."

"Well, let's go find out shall we?" He said walking into the hallway.

"Um Jarred?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

Stephanie bit her lip as she blushed. "Maybe you should...uhm...change?" she said as she eyed his shirt.

Jarred looked down at himself and nodded. "Yeah you're probably right..." He felt his cheeks flush a bit.

Stephanie blushed harder. "Maybe...Maybe I should step out?"

"Y-yeah." Jarred could feel his face get warmer as he went into the compartment while Stephanie went pass him.

Just as his luck would have it, he slipped on some of the syrup on the floor. He fell bringing Stephanie down with him.

He winced as he landed on one of his hands. That at the moment was the least of his worries as he looked down at the brown haired girl. Jarred felt his cheeks turn a bright red. "I-I..."

Stephanie was staring up at him, her eyes wide and she was blushing furiously. "Uhm..."

"Sorry..." He whispered, his hair fell in front of his eyes so Stephanie could only see that he was blushing.

"I-it's alright." Stephanie said, averting her eyes. "Could you...get off?"

He stood up and helped her too her feet. He remained extremely silent, too embarrassed to speak.

"I'm...going to change." She said as she gestured to her syrup covered blouse before grabbing her bag and walking out the door.

Jarred closed the door behind her then went into the compartment's comfort room cubicle. He quickly rinsed out his hair before changing into a fresh pair of clothes. He was glad Pascal bought the first class compartment.

Just as he stepped out of the cubicle, Stephanie stepped inside the compartment, her hair wet and wearing new clothes.

He didn't look at her, still embarrassed.

" Jarred? I'm sorry." She said, not looking at him.

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault." He gave her a small smile, forcing himself to look up at her.

Her cheeks were still red but she smiled apologetically at him.

Jarred grabbed a towel to dry his hair. After he did, the black strands stood up looking uncombed and fuzzy.

Stephanie giggled and reached out to pat his hair down, the previous events forgotten. "Fuzzy head." She snickered.

He chuckled. "Yeah it does that."

She smiled widely at him, her eyes twinkling. "Fuzzy head." she teased.

Jarred smirked. "I thought I was 'Warhead'."

"Nope! You're Fuzzy head now!" She stuck out her tongue at him.

_ Kiss her._ A mesmerizing female voice suddenly whispered in his head.

Jarred smiled gently at her. Standing up he put a hand on her cheek, staring into her eyes softly. Stephanie's eyes widened as she flushed, staring up at Jarred.

He leaned towards her quietly, a faint blush on his cheeks.

Just as their lips were about to meet, someone suddenly cleared their throat at the doorway.

The two jumped back startled. Jarred had gone to the ground, while Stephanie on the other bench. They looked up to see who it was, both their faces bright red.

Pascal was leaning against the doorway of the compartment with his arms crossed, his face expressionless but his eyes cold. He too was wearing clean clothes. His hat was tilted downwards so it shadowed his face.

"Enjoying yourselves?" He asked in a flat voice.


	24. Chapter 23: The Dove's Boredom

**Chapter 23**

Jarred kept his head down, guilt washing over him. _Why did I do that?! I have a girlfriend...T-that wouldn't have been right! So? Your girl is dying, what if you don't make it in time?_ Anger flooded through him. How dare he ever even think of something like that! At the back of his mind, he could hear the twinkling laugh of a woman.

"Pascal..." Stephanie pleaded. She flinched when he turned his cold eyes towards her.

"Save it." He said. "We're near the train's first stop. We can stay in the city for an hour before the train leaves. You two better not miss it." He said before taking his bag and walking out.

Stephanie and Jarred looked at one another for a moment before getting their things and following Pascal.

It took a while before they found Pascal in the hallway. The son of Hermes had his forehead pressed against a glass window with closed eyes, tears silently streaming down his face. He didn't seem to notice the two.

Jarred looked at Stephanie and tilted his head to Pascal, telling her to go to him.

They quickly turned back to Pascal when they heard him choke back a sob, an expression of pure undiluted pain on his face. He shook his head and wiped his tears, muttering to himself as he moved towards the exit on the other train car. He still had not seen the two.

They followed silently. "Pascal..." Stephanie said softly, walking alongside him.

Pascal flinched, his eyes burning with anger and pain as he stared ahead, ignoring the two.

Stephanie had a sorrowful look on her face. _This is my fault..._ Jarred thought solemnly as he followed his friends. He didn't know if Pascal would still be his friend after this.

Once the train stopped, Pascal quickly got off but waited for the other two.

They followed him quietly. "Pascal, listen," Jarred looked up at him. "I didn't mean to...I just..." He sighed, how could he put the words?

Pascal took in a shaky breath before looking at them with cold eyes. "Do you both have all your bags?" he asked flatly.

"Yeah..." Jarred said, adjusting the strap on his shoulder.

"The train leaves in an hour. We'll meet back here." Pascal said. "Until then...do whatever you want...I don't care anymore." The last part he whispered as he turned around and got lost in the crowd.

Jarred sighed. "It's no use. He's going to stay mad at us for awhile." He shook his head and started walking in the opposite direction. "Come on."

Stephanie was silent but followed Jarred through the crowd. "What are we going to do?" she whispered.

"About Pascal?" He glanced back at her. She nodded as she stared at the ground.

Jarred let out a faint sigh. "I don't know, only time will tell where it'll end up."

Stephanie nodded and looked back where Pascal disappeared. "Be careful..." Jarred heard her whisper.

"Stephanie come on." Jarred called out to her, from the side of the other side of the road.

"Coming!" she shouted as she jogged to catch up. Both of them didn't notice the figure in the shadows, his striped hat shadowing his face as he watched the two.

Jarred led the way through the crowd. He was holding Stephanie's wrist so that they would not be separated.

"There's a café over there." Stephanie said, pointing to a small building with an assortment of tables with red umbrellas in front of it.

"The Richmond Café." Jarred told her as they walked over. "This place is a pretty popular hangout for kids during the school year."

The café was bustling with costumers, most of them kids. A waitress walked over to them as they entered. "May I help you?" she asked.

Jarred looked at Stephanie. "I'm good for now, Steph you want anything?"

"A cup of hot chocolate and a muffin please." She asked. The waitress nodded and led the two to a table in a far corner of the café.

As they sat down, Jarred gently touched the red gem. Thankfully it hadn't gotten colder or dimmer since they got on the train.

Stephanie put her elbow on the table and rest her head on her palm. "What happened?" she whispered, not looking at Jarred in the eye.

"Nothing it's still the same, thank the gods for that." He said quietly.

Stephanie shook her head. "I meant on the train."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah that."

Jarred kept silent for a few minutes. Thinking thing's over he didn't know how to answer her question.

Stephanie sighed and smiled weakly up at Jarred. "It's not all your fault you know." She said.

He looked up at her quietly. The look in his eyes reminded her of a small child who just got in trouble. "What do you mean?"

Stephanie blushed a bit. "In a way...I wanted it too." She said before looking down at the table.

He blushed, not taking his eyes off of her. Just then the waitress for before came over and placed Stephanie's order in front of her.

"Thank you." The daughter of Aphrodite said, looking up at the waitress. The waitress nodded and smiled at Stephanie before moving away.

"I wonder where Pascal is..." Jarred said, he had turned his gaze to the people walking past the cafe.

"I don't know." Stephanie muttered before picking apart her muffin. She ate some then looked up at Jarred. "Want?" She said, holding up a piece.

"Thanks." He took the piece and smiled at the taste. "I don't remember the last time I've had something from this place."

Stephanie chuckled and smiled at Jarred. "Me too."

"Hey Steph." Jarred looked into her eyes. "What was it like for you, before you came to camp?"

"Hmm." Stephanie said as her eyes glazed over as she tried to remember. "I'm a year rounder since I came here when I was around ten years old. I have a little brother and he's with dad. Dad's a model but I don't know what for right now. He sends me letters whenever he can."

"I've heard that a lot of the Aphrodite kids have movie stars or singers as dads." He said. "Not surprised, since you know..."

Stephanie shrugged and smiled at Jarred.

He smiled back at her. "How about we hit some of the shops before heading back to the train station. We have about half an hour."

Sure." Stephanie said. The waitress from before walked up to them and cleaned their table.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" She asked.

"Yeah, can we get the bill please?" Jarred said taking out his wallet.

The waitress smiled at him. "Oh no. This has already been paid for."

He looked up at her confused. "What do you mean?"

"A young man came in and told me that he'll pay for whatever you two ordered." She replied.

Jarred and Stephanie looked at one another confused. "Oh, well thanks." He smiled at the waitress slightly before standing up.

"I believe he just left." She said, pointing to the exit where a figure was just about to close the door. He looked like a teen with a mop of messy blond hair.

The two nodded and thanked the waitress for her service before going out the door. "Who do you think that was?" Jarred whispered to Stephanie.

"I don't...know." Stephanie replied.

"I don't see him anymore, curse this crowd..." Jarred growled.

Stephanie shrugged. "Well we can't do anything about it. How about we go hit some shops like you said?"

"I guess you're right." He looked back one last time before following his companion. "So where do you want to go first."

She shrugged again. "I'm not familiar with this place. You tell me." she said smiling up at Jarred.

"I'm not very familiar with this place either. All I really know is that we're on the outskirts of New York City right now." He smiled at her slightly. "They probably have a few street shops or stores downtown."

"Okay." She said before grabbing Jarred's hand and pulling him forward. "We better hurry up then."

He blushed faintly but didn't protest as he followed. "Okay, okay I'm coming." He chuckled.

_You want her don't you?_ The same female voice from before whispered in his mind.

Jarred smiled to himself. It didn't occur to him that the voice was a woman's and not his own.

_You're happy with her right?_ The voice whispered again.

_ Yes, she's nice and understands me._ He thought.

_Choose who your heart wants hero..._

That snapped him out of it. Someone was messing with his head, and his emotions. "Aphrodite." Jarred growled quietly.

"Jarred! Jarred Come on run!" He heard Stephanie shriek.

He turned. "What do you mean run?!"

He was suddenly aware of his surroundings. People around him were shrieking. He turned around just in time to find a pair of sharp teeth inches from his face. He stumbled backwards to see an arrow that pierced through the monster's throat. A Harpy. As the harpy dissolved into golden dust, he saw Pascal a few meters in front of him holding a bow.

"What in the name of the gods are you doing?! RUN!" Pascal shouted notching another arrow as he ran towards the two.

Jarred pulled Efialtis from its sheath. "More like fight." He muttered, running after pascal as the staff became a spear. "What happened?!" He called to the other boy, dodging a set of Harpy talons.

"You just froze up! That's what happened!" The son of Hermes shouted as he turned around to fire another arrow. "What in Hades were you thinking?!"

"I don't know! I had a stupid voice in my head messing with my thoughts!" He shot an electric bolt at a harpy, causing her to melt into golden dust.

Pascal growled lowly as he snatched up Stephanie and put her on his back. Jarred was amazed to see that he could carry her easily. _Must be the adrenaline._ Jarred thought.

"Stephanie was trying to get you to snap out of it. She hurt herself trying to dodge that thing!" Pascal spat.

Jarred said nothing, him and Pascal would have their quarrel later.

Pascal grunted as he flipped a table towards what Jarred saw was the last harpy.

"You go on!" Jarred told Pascal. "I'll meet you guys at the train station."

Pascal immediately changed course while carrying a pale Stephanie. "You better make it back alive."

"You insult me!" Jarred smirked, giving Efialtis a twirl. He wanted to make this last one wish it could never come back to life.

The harpy shrieked at him and lunged towards his throat. "Die hero!"

"Fat chance!" He shot the spear straight through her. The harpy shrieked in pain as the electricity from the spear ran through her body before there was a bright explosion as the monster disintegrated. Shading his eyes, Jarred snatched up his weapon before any of the mortals noticed him and hurried to the train station.

When he got there, he found Pascal and Stephanie on one of the benches, breathing heavily.

Pascal looked like he was ready to pass out and had two deep claw marks on his shoulder. Stephanie on the other hand had a long deep gash on her right leg.

"Here Steph." Pascal muttered as he handed her a piece of Ambrosia before going to work on the gash on her leg.

Jarred sat down on the ground. Looking at Stephanie with sadden eyes, she had tried to protect him when all she did was hurt herself.

She caught him looking and tried to give him a reassuring smile.

He looked away from her. What if that had been Alice? She could've... A small sob shook him. Jarred hoped his friends wouldn't notice.

Jarred heard Stephanie winced as Pascal was finishing wrapping the bandages.

"Sorry." He muttered before standing up. "Don't put too much pressure on that leg for a while. It'll heal in a couple of hours." He finished before slumping on a chair and taking his shirt off. He winced as the fabric grazed the wound as he got another roll of bandages from his backpack.

Stephanie turned to Jarred as Pascal was cleaning his wounds. "It's okay Jarred. I'm not mad." she whispered.

He rubbed one of his eyes slightly. "I know..." He said quietly, and winced when his jacket touched the gash.

"Here let me help with that." Stephanie said before going up to clean Jarred's wounds.

Jarred opened his mouth to protest, but he was beginning to feel the pain coming from it.

"Don't be so stubborn." Stephanie muttered as she finished cleaning his wounds.

"Can't help it." He smirked. Stephanie smirked back as she shook her head.

Suddenly, something was being held out to his face. Looking up, he saw Pascal wordlessly holding out an ambrosia square and a strip of bandage.

"Here..." Pascal muttered, his eyes dead and his voice flat.

Jarred took it silently. "Thanks." He gave his friend a small smile and ate the ambrosia.

Pascal just nodded before going back to his backpack and throwing a new shirt back on. He winced as he sat back down and leaned back on the bench, closing his eyes.

Jarred sighed and laid back. The bandage felt odd on his face, and his anger for Stephanie's mom had returned. "Hey Steph, I think this is a terrible time to say this but-" He looked up at her. "-I seriously hate your mom right now."

Stephanie looked a bit offended. "Why?"

"She's messing with my mind and emotions." He said looking up at the sky.

Stephanie was about to retort something but Pascal cut her off. "Well she's the goddess of love isn't she?" Pascal muttered, half asleep. "But aside from that, I'm surprised you two haven't noticed an important detail yet."

Jarred sat up as the two stared at him. "What important detail?"

Pascal looked up from under his hat. "We missed our train."


	25. Chapter 24: The Messenger's Wounds

**Chapter 24**

"You're joking..." Jarred's eyes widened. "Please tell me you're joking!"

Pascal shook his head and pointed to the giant clock. "We missed it a few minutes ago."

Jarred groaned falling back. "CURSE THE GODS!" he shouted angrily.

Thunder rumbled in the sky. Pascal looked up warily and sighed. "Be careful of what you say." He muttered before standing up. "It's best we camp out. It's getting dark and the bus to New Jersey is tomorrow morning. From there we'll take the train to Denver."

"Yeah be careful what I say. Like that's gonna happen." Jarred rolled his eyes standing up.

Stephanie tried to stand up before slumping back down on the chair. "Sorry guys...I can't walk properly yet."

Jarred helped her up. "I'll help." He smiled gently at her, letting her lean on him for support.

Pascal stared at the two before turning around. "I'll go ahead and find a good camp ground." He muttered.

"Okay." Jarred said, ignoring the boys annoyance.

"Just stay here...I'll call you two when I find something." Pascal said before going into the woods nearby.

He sat down next to Stephanie and sighed. He felt slightly dizzy from the adrenaline rush and had to force his eyes to focus.

Stephanie ran her hand through his hair. "You can take a quick nap." She whispered. "I'll wake you up when Pascal comes back."

"No, I'm fine." Jarred gave her a small smile.

"Sleep Jarred." Stephanie said, smiling softly at him.

He could feel himself become sleepy. "How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" She whispered, running another hand through his messy hair.

"You just told me to sleep and now I feel tired." He stifled a small yawn. "How did you do that? I wasn't even close to being tired before."

Stephanie shrugged. "I don't know really." she said before smiling softly. "Just go to sleep Jarred. You'll feel better."

He did as he was told and went to sleep, his head resting in her lap. Occasionally he would mutter something, but nothing more. Soon he found himself in another dream.

_Jarred stood in a dark place with fog floating across the floor. He recognized this place from his previous dream at the infirmary._

_ He looked around silently. "Where am I?"_

_Suddenly, he heard a faint sound. Straining his ears, Jarred realized that it was the sound of someone humming a low song._

_Tears came to his eyes as he recognized the song. It was the one Alice had played at the amphitheatre during his first week at camp. Jarred walked forward, following the sound._

_"Hello?" He called out._

_The humming sounded louder as he continued to walk forward. Soon he found a figure sitting on the ground a few meters in front of him._

_ Jarred drew a sharp breath seeing that it was Alice. "Alice?"_

_Alice turned around. Seeing it was Jarred, she smiled softly as she continued to hum the tune._

_He began to walk to her, but suddenly he was no longer able to move. No...No, he was so close to her yet now, she was so far away again._

_ Alice continued to smile softly at him as she hummed._

_"Alice! Alice don't go!" He tried to get his legs to move but they remained planted firmly to the ground._

_ Alice stood up and walked towards him. She stopped when she was just in front of Jarred and cupped his cheek, smiling softly._

_ He looked at her sadly, he went to touch her hand but he just went straight through her. Why was this dream turning into a nightmare?_

_"Don't cry..." She whispered._

_"But you're..." Jarred couldn't get the word 'dying' to come, so he stood there silently looking down at his feet._

_Alice tilted his head up so she could look him in the eye. She smiled before leaning in and gently kissed Jarred on the lips._

_He smiled slightly before drawing back. 'This is a dream. Don't get sucked into it, or you'll end up hurting yourself.' He made that a mental note._

_ Alice smiled sadly at him as if reading his mind. "I will always love you Jarred. Even if I won't know it myself." She whispered._

_"I wish I were able to be with you right now." He whispered shakily, his body shook with small sobs. "So many things could go wrong on this quest. So many what ifs." He looked up at her. "What if I won't be able to hear you say that to me again?"_

_ "I believe in you...I always had." Alice whispered. "I'll always be with you. Right here." She touched the middle of his chest._

_ Jarred was going to respond but he felt himself waking up. Why now?_

_Alice smiled before kissing him gently on the forehead. "I'll see you later. I love you." She whispered before she faded with the dream._

As he woke, he felt his eyes burn as he blinked sleep away.

"Hey I was just about to wake you." Stephanie said, smiling down at him.

Jarred sat up but he didn't return Stephanie's smile. "I wish I hadn't gone to sleep." He muttered under his breath.

"It'll be okay." She said, brushing some of his hair off his face.

He winced but didn't answer as he looked into her eyes. His own were faintly bloodshot.

Her bright brown eyes stared back at him filled with worry. "It'll be okay." She whispered.

"I know it will. I just had a dream that's all." He tried to give a small smile.

Stephanie looked up at him. "What was the dream about?"

He winced slightly. "Alice...it was about Alice."

Stephanie nodded. "Want to talk about it?"

Jarred shook his head. "No, I'd rather not."

Stephanie nodded in understanding before leaning in to hug Jarred. "We'll make it. I know we will."

He hugged her back, closing his eyes. "I know we will too." His voice was quiet and soft.

Stephanie shivered. "You're cold. I mean you feel cold."

Jarred pulled away. "What do you mean?"

"It's just...your chest...It's cold." She said, her eyebrows furrowing.

His eyebrows furrowed together as he looked at the necklace around his neck. Holding up the small gem slightly, he saw that it was dim and losing its warmth. Oh no... He looked up at Stephanie. "We have to pick up our pace tomorrow and try to get to Los Angeles as fast as possible."

"The camp ground's ready." Pascal's voice sounded. Looking up, they saw him standing by the forest's edge.

Jarred stood up and helped Stephanie walk over. "Not a moment too soon." He said quietly. "We'll be leaving first thing in the morning."

Pascal led the two towards a small clearing in the forest. There was a fire pit in the middle where a blaze was illuminating the surroundings.

"Make yourselves at home." Pascal muttered before going to sit against a tree.

When he had helped Stephanie sit down again, Jarred walked over to Pascal and sat beside him. "Dude, it's bugging me, what's your problem lately?"

"It's not like you don't know." Pascal muttered as he looked up at the stars.

Jarred's eyes narrowed. "You know that I regret doing that." He growled, as good of a friend as Pascal was, he really could get on Jarred's nerves.

Pascal turned his dead eyes towards Jarred. "Sure...Whatever." he said before looking away.

_That's it, I'm sick of this._ Jarred thought bitterly. "That's it! Pascal this is ridiculous you know that?!" He snapped.

Pascal suddenly stood up, his fist clenched. "Me? Ridiculous? You should talk." He laughed without humor. "I find you about to kiss the girl I love when your girlfriend, my best friend and little sister, is DYING." He shouted. "DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME I'M RIDICULOUS FOR ACTING LIKE THIS!"

Jarred got to his feet. "I WAS HAVING A GODDESS MESS WITH MY HEAD!" A sudden darkness crept to his eyes. "AND I WILL CALL YOU RIDICULOUS! YOU'RE ACTING AS IF NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE! JUST WITH A RETARDED DEAD LOOK IN YOUR EYES!"

"WELL I'M SORRY FOR BEING HEARTBROKEN. I'M SORRY FOR TRYING HEAL MY FEELINGS! I'M SORRY FOR FEELING BETRAYED!" Pascal shouted back, tears running down his face.

Jarred felt a pang of sympathy, he knew what he had done was wrong and he knew that he had hurt his friend. He sighed lowering his voice. "Pascal, you know I'm sorry for all of that, I didn't know what I was doing." He had to force his voice to be calm, for his anger was still there.

"You two didn't sound like it. Who do you think paid for your meal in that café?" Pascal hissed out, his eyes showing pure pain.

Jarred glared at Pascal. "You're over-reacting Pascal. You know that I would never take Stephanie away from you." He was beginning to lose his patience.

Pascal glared back. "I don't believe you." he growled out. "But you already made your choice."

"Yeah I have and I chose Alice!" He hissed. "You're so naive and stubborn, you know that?" Jarred gave him a small shove.

Pascal stumbled back and glared at Jarred. "Doesn't look like it." He spat. "Just leave me alone Jarred." He sat back down and ignored the older boy.

"No I will not leave you alone! I've left you alone for too long! Every day you get worse and it's worrying me and Stephanie, and starting to get on my nerves!" His voice was rising again. The shadows around the forest seemed to get darker, like they were responding to his anger.

"Please Jarred." Pascal croaked out, pain showing on his face. "I'll give you one last chance...Don't mess it up."

"You'll find a way to make it so that I messed up. So what's the point?" Jarred hissed quietly. Efialtis was in his hands, with the dark gleam in his eye it looked like he wanted to skewer the other boy. Instead he just walked off into the forest, away from their small camp ground.

After letting out some steam, breaking a few trees in the process, Jarred came back to the camp ground relatively calmer. Pascal was still in the spot when Jarred left and Stephanie was looking at Pascal worriedly.

Jarred sat far away from the fire. Keeping silent as he narrowed his eyes at the small source of light they had.

Stephanie sat down beside him and pulled her knees to her chest. "Hey."

"Hey." He said quietly, not taking his eyes off the fire.

"You feeling better?" She whispered, glancing at Pascal.

"Yeah, but it's probably best if I stay away from him." He looked at her. His eyes still remained dark and cold.

"That would be hard since we have to work together for this quest." Stephanie said.

"Yeah, I know." He looked back to the fire.

Stephanie stayed silent. Jarred saw that she was looking at Pascal with an almost longing expression.

"Go over to him." He said quietly. "He's the one that needs the comfort."

Stephanie looked uncertain but went over to Pascal. Pascal turned his glare towards her but it immediately softened.

Jarred watched them for a minute before curling up on the grass, his back to them. _I'll be home soon Alice..._ He thought and drifted into sleep.


	26. Chapter 25: Gifts of the Sun

**Chapter 25**

Jarred woke up earlier than usual the next morning. Looking around He saw that their fire had died out sometime while he was asleep. When he turned his gaze towards his friends, what he saw made him smile a bit.

Pascal and Stephanie were leaning against each other, still fast asleep. Pascal's head was on Stephanie's as her arms were wrapped around his waist.

He stood up and stretched. Looking up at the sky he guessed it was about five or six am. _We got about two hours before the bus shows up..._

Stephanie muttered something and shifted closer to Pascal who wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.

Jarred glanced at them. _Now's not the time to wake them up..._ He stepped into the shadows and started to head back to town. He figured he'd go buy their tickets for the bus before coming back.

"That'll be $60 for three tickets sonny." The ticket seller said from his booth. "It'll take you straight to New Jersey."

Jarred handed him the money and took the tickets. "Thanks." He gave a friendly smile before turning to go back to the campground.

When he came back, Pascal was awake and cooking breakfast while Stephanie was nowhere to be seen.

Jarred didn't look at Pascal but instead sat under a shady tree. "I got the tickets for the bus." He said calmly. "It should take us all the way to New Jersey."

Pascal nodded as he stared into the fire. "Stephanie's getting changed. She'll be here in a few minutes."

"'Kay."

Stephanie stepped back into the clearing just as Pascal finished making breakfast. "Here." He handed Jarred and Stephanie their bowls. "It's all we have. I'm sorry."

It was oatmeal mixed with crushed berries. Jarred took it and shrugged. "It's fine Pascal." He gave his friend a small smile.

To his surprise Pascal gave a small smile back, some of the old mischief back in the younger boy's eyes. Pascal then took his bowl and sat down by his tree.

The three ate their breakfast, before packing up and setting off back to town. "Hey you guys know what time it is?" Stephanie asked them.

"It's around 7 'o clock." Pascal said, shifting his backpack higher.

"We got an hour to spare, you guys want to look around?" Jarred asked.

The two nodded. "So where are we going?" Pascal muttered as he stretched.

"I don't know, just wander around for awhile?"

Pascal shrugged. "Sure why not?"

"I still wonder what the name of this city is, I feel like I should know it." Jarred grumbled as they walked through the streets.

Stephanie shrugged while Pascal stayed quiet, lost in his own thoughts.

The son of Ares looked up at the sun a small glare in his eyes. Soon he had to look away and pulled his hood over his head. "Why does it have to be so bright?" He muttered to himself.

"Alice likes bright things." Stephanie randomly said.

"She herself is bright, so I'm not surprised." He said.

"Plus her father _is_ the sun god." Pascal added in.

"So I'm offending Apollo by saying that I hate the sun lately?"

The two shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Okay good." Jarred sighed slightly. "I don't get why it's bugging me."

Pascal looked up at the giant clock at the train station. "Guys we better go. The bus will be here in a few minutes."

The three arrived just as the bus pulled in. The quickly went inside, handed in their tickets and sat near the back of the bus.

"How many days has it been?" Stephanie asked as they waited for the bus to pull out.

"Three days. We have eleven left." Jarred replied simply, his black hood hid most of his face.

"This bus ride is around a day to New Jersey then the train is around two days to Denver." Pascal added in.

"We'll have plenty of time to get back then. If all goes as planned." Jarred smirked.

The other two nodded just as the bus pulled out of the station. A few minutes into the ride, the three demigods were already twitching in their seats.

"Stupid ADHD." Pascal muttered.

"No joke." Jarred sighed with annoyance. "To think we have to be here for a day too!"

"What's a good way to waste time while we're here?" Stephanie asked desperately.

"I don't know!" Jarred rolled his eyes. "Ask Pascal!"

They both looked at the son of Hermes. The very same one who was currently tapping his foot and his head bobbing up and down as he listened to music from the iPod he clutched in his hand.

"Pascal is of no help to us..." Jarred said darkly.

"Where did...he even get that?" Stephanie asked.

"His dad's the god of thieves, he probably stole it." Jarred snatched the iPod away and put the headphones into his own ears.

"Hey! That's mi-" Pascal stopped himself. "Well not technically mine but still!"

Jarred stuck his tongue out at the other boy. "Too bad, mine now!"

Pascal pouted at him. "Stupid son of Ares." Pascal grumbled before taking out another iPod from his bag.

"How many of those do you have?" Jarred asked incredulously.

"Uhm...six I think." Pascal said, handing another one to Stephanie. "That city's a big place you know."

"I can see that." Jarred said before getting lost in a Green Day song

"Hey Jarred? Jarred! I have a question." Pascal said, his voice sounding like that of a preschooler.

Jarred sighed and took out one of the headphones. "What?"

"Why are you paler than your siblings?"

"Paler?"

"Yeah. You're much paler than them."

He shrugged. "No idea."

"Huh." Pascal said before he took off his hat, his messy mop of blond hair bouncing. "I'm bored." he said as he started to do some hat tricks.

"Make that two of us." Jarred mumbled.

Looking between them, they saw that Stephanie had already dozed off.

"How she got past the ADHD and was able to sleep is beyond me." He shook his head.

Pascal shrugged and dusted some dirt off his hat. Jarred never saw anyone look so fondly at a hat before.

"Why do you wear that hat all the time anyway?"

"Huh?" Pascal said, looking over at Jarred with a startled expression.

"Why do you always wear that hat." Jarred repeated.

"Oh. This hat." Pascal said, looking fondly at the hat in his hands. "This was Alice's first gift to me. It was bigger than my head when I first got it but now it fits."

He felt a small pang of jealousy. Pascal was closer to Alice then he was, and sometimes it really did make him jealous. "That makes sense." He said and turned back to his music.

"Her gift to you is by far the fanciest one though." Pascal leaned back and tilted his hat down.

He pulled out the pocket watch and opened it up. "Really..." He looked at the two pictures and smiled slightly before putting the watch away.

"Of course. Alice made it herself." Pascal smirked.

"I know that." He gave Pascal a small shove.

Pascal smiled at him before closing his eyes. "She really does love you." He said quietly before drifting off.

Jarred did the same not long after. _"She really does love you." I know...that's why I'm so scared to lose her..._


End file.
